Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Press Electronics Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rules committee discusses easing online access for reporters in the gallery, asks staff to draft policy
Summary
The committee debated whether to allow reporters in the balcony to use online devices and asked the secretary to draft a proposed policy outlining who may be online, where, and what activities are permitted.
The Senate Rules Committee discussed relaxing its restriction on online device use by reporters in the gallery and asked the secretary to draft a policy for the committee to review.
Currently, committee staff said, reporters may type in the gallery but may not be online. A committee member reported that the original technological rationale (interference with in-chamber signals) no longer applies, and the chair said he was “inclined to relax the rule” to allow reporters in the balcony to be online for work such as sourcing or posting. Members raised practical questions: which areas (one or both balconies, press tables, or other zones) would be authorized, whether the permission should be limited to credentialed press, and whether online activity should be restricted to note-taking or extended to email and messaging.
The committee discussed enforcement and precedent. Staff noted an area historically used by press and suggested keeping online access off the chamber floor itself to avoid distraction. Members worried about livestreaming or publishing directly from the chamber, the potential for a broader public to claim the same privilege, and how to verify press credentials. One senator said opening the rule risks a flood of people “typing away” if the committee does not define limits; another member suggested giving the secretary discretion to shut down electronic use if it created a nuisance.
Rather than adopting an immediate rule change, the committee agreed to ask the secretary to draft a proposed policy that specifies location(s) where online use is permitted, the categories of allowed users (for example, credentialed press), and permitted activities (note-taking only versus email/texting or posting). The draft will be presented for committee review at a future meeting.
No formal rule change was adopted at this meeting; the committee’s action was directional: request staff to prepare a written proposal with defined parameters for approval at a later date.
