If you read this NJ article, you read a bunch of legislators on the JFC who are clearly supportive of HB1 — but not when it comes to them and the workings of the JFC:
JFC co-leaders Sen. Nancy Cook, D-Kenton, and Rep. Dennis P. Williams, D-Wilmington North, said they hope the JFC will continue to be allowed to meet in its private “orientation” sessions even if some version of the open-government House Bill 1 is approved. That would give legislators the same protection as the executive branch, Cook said, noting similar closed-door hearings are held to finalize the governor’s recommended budget. The private meetings allow legislators to meet with staff and advisors behind closed doors to get background information needed to make decisions, she said.
Ever think about why these legislators need the “protection” of working out of the public eye? The folks holding the pursestrings certainly hold alot of power — but in the case of running a government, spending really is policy. Government commitments to support (or not) or fund (or not) certain initiatives, departments, or programs is the real statement of policy — no matter the happy talk that you may encounter in constituent meetings, media interviews, statements from the floor. It is, as it always was, the money that does the talking.
Shielding the JFC’s deliberations from the public just ensures that the public (not the Executive Branch) never sees the final vetting of the policy for the year. Members of the JFC get to make their deals and decisions in private, subject to nothing more than the usual Delaware Way.
Conceding that since HB1 is not yet law, the JFC is certainly within its rights to vote itself rules that close their proceedings to the rest of us. But an endorsement of HB1 is an endorsement of beginning to dismantle the Delaware Way and I think that the JFC — especially now, in the midst of the current budget meltdown — needs to step up, get on its suncreen and learn to live with alot more sunshine. And certainly, the JFC should never be exempt from the HB1 rules and requirements.