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Gibbons' education task force not subject to open meeting law, deputy AG says
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CARSON CITY -- A deputy attorney general said Wednesday that he advised Gov. Jim Gibbons that his new task force on education is not a public body and, therefore, is exempt from the state's open meeting law.
Deputy Attorney General George Taylor said he determined through an examination of state laws and the attorney general's open meeting law manual that the Education Reform Blue Ribbon Task Force is not a public body because "it expends no public money."
Because of Taylor's opinion, the 28-member education task force met Friday behind closed doors at Wynn Las Vegas.
Taylor handles open meeting law complaints for the attorney general's office.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday asked the governor to require the task force to meet in public.
Maggie McLetchie, the group's interim Southern Nevada director, said Wednesday that Taylor's interpretation is wrong.
"The task force does not have to expend dollars to be subject (to the open meeting law)," she said. "It just has to advise an entity that does. The proclamation establishing it directs it to create recommendations for the Legislature and the governor, both of which spend dollars."
McLetchie asked Gibbons to respond by Friday to the ACLU request to open all task force meetings. She did not say whether her organization will pursue legal action if he does not.
Daniel Burns, Gibbons' communication director, said Monday that last week's task force meeting was conducted in private at the request of casino executive Elaine Wynn. She is co-chair of the task force.
Some other meetings will be private and some public, he said.
Burns contended that if the task force met in public, then a "circus" atmosphere would be created as some members would play to the media.
Several members of the task force are state and local government employees drawing public salaries.
But Taylor said other attorney general opinions have found that salaries are not considered in deciding if public money has been spent by a task force or advisory committee.
McLetchie said "unquestionably" the task force is a public body under state law.
"The attorney general's interpretation runs the risk of swallowing the entire open meeting law," she said. "The plain language of the statute explicitly states that committees that advise entities that expend tax dollars, including the executive and legislative bodies, are subject to the open meeting law."
The education task force was directed by Gibbons to propose language by May 21 that can be used in the state's application for a $175 million Nevada Race to the Top federal grant.
It also was directed to prepare by Nov. 19 recommendations on education reform that the governor could include in his budget to the Legislature in 2011.
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But we are in a race to the bottom. Reading scores rates us at only 43. We have to really work to get us to the bottom at 51. Let's get this task force busy to further reduce education funding and get us to the bottom! We have work to do: get parents to keep the kids at computer games; close the libraries; lay off more teachers and hire more administrators. We have to get busy or we won't reach the bottom by the next test.
Well, I hope this busy little ACLU litigator makes an announcement very soon about Rory Reid's hand picked Blue Ribbon Business Czars open meeting issues, as they are making recommendations on business issues regarding Clark County.