For the second time in a year, a Missouri court has backed the state Senate in a dispute with the group Progress Missouri, over the right to record the proceedings of some Senate committee hearings.
However, both sides found something good to cite in Tuesday's ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals.
"While we're disappointed that (Tuesday's) ruling was not in our favor, we're happy the court maintained that the Missouri Senate is not exempt from Missouri Sunshine Law," Laura Swinford, Progress Missouri's director, told the News Tribune in an email.
"The court's indication that the Missouri Senate should operate under Sunshine Law rules is good news for those of us who care about transparency and good governance."
She said the group was still reviewing the ruling but had no plans to appeal at this time.
Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said, "The Missouri Senate has made a very conscious effort, as well as a significant financial investment, toward increasing the ability of the public and the press to have access to Senate committee hearings in recent months.
"However, (Tuesday's) decision by the court was about more than just access to meetings - at its heart it was a victory for the principle of the separation of powers."
Writing for the appeals court panel, Judge Anthony Rex Gabbert said Missouri's Constitution expressly provides the Senate "may determine the rules of its own proceedings."
Quoting a 1973 state Supreme Court case, Gabbert added, "This authority is only limited by 'exceptions provided in the Constitution itself'" and was not reviewable by the court.
Progress Missouri, a liberal-leaning policy and lobbying organization, sued the Senate on April 15, 2015, arguing it had violated the state's open meetings/open records law - or Sunshine Law - when some of its committee chairs prohibited Pthe group from recording in some committee meetings, while allowing the press and Senate Communications staff to record pictures and audio of those same meetings.
The lawsuit argued Senate committee chairmen including Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, violated the state law, which says, "A public body shall allow for the recording by audiotape, videotape, or other electronic means of any open meeting. A public body may establish guidelines regarding the manner in which such recording is conducted so as to minimize disruption to the meeting."
The Senate argued its Rule 96 controlled the situations. Among its provisions, the rule says, "Persons with cameras, flash cameras, lights, or other paraphernalia may be allowed to use such devices at committee meetings with the permission of the Chairman as long as they do not prove disruptive to the decorum of the committee."
The appeals court's ruling said, "Because Missouri's Sunshine Law expressly allows for the creation of guidelines to effectuate the recording of public meetings while minimizing disruption, and there is no dispute that the Senate requires Senate Communications to record committee meetings and to make those recordings available to the public, Progress's contention that the Senate must allow Progress to personally record meetings fails to sufficiently articulate a claim for violation of the statute."
Gabbert said the Sunshine Law does not state all attendees must be allowed to record meetings.
On June 30 last year, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem granted the Senate's motion to dismiss the case, on the grounds the Senate has the constitutional authority to determine the rules of its proceedings. Beetem also ruled Progress Missouri had no constitutional right under free speech or association personally to record open public meetings.