Committee recommends do-not-pass on bill limiting where party districts may meet

The House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 13 recommended a do-not-pass on House Bill 1463, a measure that would have restricted where political party district meetings may be held.

Representative Grinberg told the committee the bill was intended to address situations where party meetings were being held outside the district and said he and the sponsor had discussed an amendment to allow county-wide meeting locations in some areas. “We are working on amendment to the bill, so to allow for all of Cass County to be able to meet at 1 place,” Grinberg said.

Several legislators objected to the bill as an unnecessary state-level micromanagement of local party administration. Representative Vetter said he voted against the bill earlier because “I just think it's micromanaging and, getting into … basically local business.” Representative Wolff and others noted some rural districts cover long distances with no major meeting sites, and one member said the issue was better solved locally through district bylaws.

The committee first voted to take the bill back for further work and later put the measure to a do-not-pass recommendation. On roll call the motion carried, 9-2-3. Supporters said the bill aimed to prevent abuse where meeting locations were allegedly being used in bad faith; critics said enforcement and one-size-fits-all rules would be problematic for many districts and that caucus or party bylaws should address the matter.

Representative Vedder moved the do-not-pass recommendation; Representative Wolf seconded. The committee recorded the vote and instructed staff to return remaining items on the schedule.