Some participants in legislative pre-meetings say they undermine the democratic process

The continued use of legislative pre-meetings in the House undermines transparency and the public’s ability to be involved in the democratic process, three lobbyists who have attended such gatherings told the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee on Wednesday.

As many as 30 House committees hold pre-meetings — which is formally known as bill review, during which lawmakers hear from lobbyists and legislative liaisons about legislation prior to committee meetings.

Although the House posts a list of such pre-meetings on the General Assembly’s website, the meetings are often held in obscure and hard-to-find locations and frequently include offhand remarks while the fate of legislation is considered.

Questions of transparency, openness

On Wednesday, Gov. Bill Lee refrained from criticizing the use of pre-meetings, saying, ”The legislature has their own sort of approaches to meetings. I haven’t been a part of those meetings.”

Members of Lee’s administration — specifically legislative liaisons, who are staffers working on the behalf state agencies — are frequently seen at pre-meetings.

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When reminded of that fact, Lee said, “Certainly transparency is very important in this state. Those pre-meetings are open meetings. I think we’re all committed to transparency.”

But some lobbyists question lawmakers’ true commitment to transparency, given the continued use of pre-meetings.

House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, has frequently touted his support for transparency. This year, he’s boasted about a move to make amendments to bills publicly available earlier in the legislative process.

“One of the latest things that the House is doing is put our amendments online so that you and the citizens of the state know when amendments are put on (a bill), not at a later date,” Casada told members of the Tennessee Press Association in February.

The amendments, however, are currently in an obscure location on the website — on the page for the subcommittee — rather than an already existing amendment section for each bill.

Access issues facing lobbyists, public

“Speaker Casada and so many other leaders preach about transparency and openness,” said a lobbyist who has frequently worked at the legislature since 2015. The lobbyist sought anonymity in order to speak freely. “It’s almost kinda one of those things where you’re not practicing what you preach.”

The lobbyist said the use of pre-meetings is part of a “well-orchestrated act” that puts smaller lobbying groups at a disadvantage to larger ones.

Another lobbyist who has worked at the legislature since the early 2000s said while lawmakers have made advances in terms of transparency in recent years — noting the addition of livestreaming — much work remains.

“It’s kind of controlled democracy,” the lobbyist said, pointing to the recent decision by Casada’s office to remove protesters holding sheets of paper in a recent hearing,

The longtime lobbyist said members of the public are at a disadvantage with the use of pre-meetings because they are not able to hear the debate that often occurs during bill review.

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“A lot of times, they’ll set what the agenda is going to be,” the longtime lobbyist said. “It just seems like to me it’s an unfair practice.”

The issue of 'caption bills'

Scott Banbury, a conservation program coordinator for the state chapter of the Sierra Club and registered lobbyist, said the use of caption bills — broadly written measures — further places the public at a disadvantage.

Caption bills allow lawmakers to rewrite a bill after it is introduced with wildly different intentions. Many legislative insiders have remarked on the sheer volume of caption bills this year. 

Examples include a bill from Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, which initially was written to be about lawmakers' pay. He recently tried to amend it to increase the amount of campaign contributions that Senators could receive. 

Banbury said caption bills often hide the lawmakers' true intentions until it is far too late for the public to notice. 

In terms of pre-meetings, Banbury took issue with the fact that lobbyists are often the ones who are presenting or explaining a lawmaker's bill. 

The USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee recently witnessed a lobbyist for the Tennessee Road Builders Association presenting a bill in a pre-meeting when the measure's sponsor was not present. 

Given that lobbyists are paid by "monied interests", Banbury said they may not be presenting all sides of an issue during pre-meetings. 

“The Ethics Commission requires that we never as registered lobbyists give out false information but they’re certainly going to be giving a biased presentation,” he said. 

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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.