by Bryan Gibel
Daily Lobo
GPSA may have violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act when it recessed its Saturday meeting.
The association delayed voting on an anti-discrimination resolution and plans to reconvene on Tuesday.
The New Mexico Open Meetings Act states public bodies may only recess and reconvene a meeting if they specify the date, time and place for the continuation before the meeting is recessed.
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Voting on the resolution was postponed because the room where the meeting was held at the Museum of Natural History was available for only three hours on Saturday, said Melanie Armstrong, chairwoman of GPSA council.
"I felt that the people in council really wanted the chance to discuss these issues in a reasonable and logical fashion," she said. "I hope that the potential by adjourning the meeting until Tuesday will give us the chance to think about and pass legislation that we can be proud of as a body."
GPSA's constitution requires it to follow the Open Meetings Act.
GPSA plans to reconvene at the SUB, but the location could not be confirmed because the SUB does not take room reservations over the weekend, Armstrong said.
The act also requires public bodies to post where and when meetings will be reconvened on or near the door of the original meeting place immediately following recess.
Armstrong said she will call the museum today to post the information about the next meeting once a location is confirmed.
She said she will advertise the information through University e-mail lists and on the GPSA Web site.
Information will also be available at the GPSA office, she said.
The association will ensure the Tuesday meeting complies with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, said Isaac Padilla, chairman of the finance committee.
Padilla said the association will call a lawyer today to review the meeting's circumstances.
"If the meeting is in violation of the act, we will cancel the meeting until another time or do what is required to be in accordance with the law," Padilla said. "If we're in violation, we'll correct it."
The resolution that was postponed would call for a committee of students and faculty to develop a procedure for reporting and handling discrimination on campus, Armstrong said.
Rep. Jacob Gallegos said GPSA needed more time to work on the resolution to make sure it is effective.
"I think hate crimes need to be defined more," Gallegos said. "The resolution is set up to respond to hate crimes, but it never defines what they are."
Rep. Michelle Touson said the resolution needs to be passed quickly.
"You've got t1o understand," she said. "While these issues don't necessarily affect you, they directly affect me."
