Idaho Press Club, Inc. records

Collection

Identifier: MS 0658

Staff Only

Summary

The Idaho Press Club collection consists primarily of materials regarding the preparation and introduction of a bill designed to clarify and enforce the Open Meeting Law in Idaho. Materials include correspondence, State of Idaho legislative bills, minutes of meetings, a legal brief and case transcript, and printed material such as manuals and newsletters.

Dates

Creation: 1974 - 2005

Historical Note

The Idaho Press Club was incorporated on January 22, 1965 as a trade association. The bulk of the collection concerns the efforts of the Idaho Press Club to strengthen, clarify and enforce Idaho's Open Meeting Law, passed in 1974 to create uniform and understandable meeting policy for all of the states' governmental entities.

The intent of the original law is expressed by the statement: "The legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of this state that the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret." According to the Idaho Press Club, some governmental bodies adhered strictly to this law but some did not. Members of the working press and other citizens found the law vague and unenforceable.

The Idaho Press Club, in cooperation with the Idaho Newspaper Association and the Idaho Allied Dailies, sought to introduce a bill to revise, tighten, and clarify the Open Meetings Law. The goals included adding a stronger enforcement clause; defining what constitutes a meeting; which governmental bodies fall under the act and what constitutes debate; clarifying notice requirements; and clarifying when a governmental body can go into executive session to discuss legal matters.