CHARLESTON — A Kanawha Circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the House of Delegates and a committee for allegedly violating the Open Meetings Act.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announce the dismissal in a March 23 press release. The complaint was filed June 9, 2021, by Robert E. King, owner of R&R Transit, a limousine service in Morgantown.
“Governmental entities must always provide avenues for the media and the public to attend and witness official meetings that the law requires to be open,” Morrisey said in his press release. “Even with the past COVID restrictions, the House of Delegates had appropriate checks and balances in place to ensure the public could remain informed and actively participate in the democratic process.”
Tabit
The complaint, filed by Huntington attorney Hoyt Glazer and aided by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, says four pieces of legislation advanced from the committee that were signed into law must be voided.
King’s complaint noted that the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee met under similar circumstances March 24, but it reconvened and reconsidered the bills passed during that session after the ACLU threatened legal action then.
The petition sought to have the court enter an order declaring the House and the committee violated the Open Meetings Act. It also sought injunctive relief against enforcement of House Bills 2890, 2773, 3002 and 2962.
In the order signed March 21 and filed March 23, Kanawha Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit said the complaint is jurisdictionally insufficient and fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
“This court further finds and concludes that petitioner lacks standing, and thus, dismissal of this action is necessary,” she wrote. “This court further finds and concludes that the complaint must be dismissed because it fails to articulate any cognizable cause of action upon which relief can be granted.”
The Government Organization Committee held an official meeting at the State Capitol on March 23, 2021, to discuss House Bill 2890, which was related to the scope of the Public Service Commission’s regulation of luxury limousine service providers.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions regarding public access to the Capitol during that time, King said he essentially prevented from attending the meeting in person and insisted the audio stream of the meeting was his “only meaningful access to committee deliberations.”
He said technical difficulties in the online audio broadcast impaired his ability to monitor the deliberations, and his attorneys argued that factor alone constituted a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.
Morrisey’s office disagreed, saying members of the media were allowed to attend the meeting in person as were any members of the public who made appointments to do so.
Despite the technical difficulties, Morrisey said King still could have taken other steps to participate in the legislative process regarding the bill, which eventually passed and became law in July.
“We have not yet had the opportunity to review the final order, but when we do, we will assess our options moving forward,” ACLU-WV Communications Director Billy Wolfe told The West Virginia Record.
Senior Deputy AG Brent Wolfingbarger represented the House.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 21-P-198
