MSNBC has an interesting article on how public bodies in California are handling electronic devices and public disclosure.

What are the policies on electronic device communication in Knox County Commission, MPC, BZA, Commission, City Council, etc?

What about at the state level?

I recall Scott Moore's cell phone calls during Black Wednesday. Is using a cell during meetings still allowed? What about texts from lobbyists?

San Jose may have a prototype policy for our lawmakers to consider.

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The better policy, they say, is one like San Jose's, which requires officials to disclose all discussions of public business, including those conducted on personal cell phones or laptops.

It was enacted months after a series of articles in the San Jose Mercury News last summer called attention to how text messaging between council members and lobbyists skirted the city's promises of open-government reform.

Mayor Reed said discussion of the new policy began a year ago, after a City Council member received a text from a lobbyist during a voting session that was meant for another council member. The text, which the member made public, appeared to be directions on how to vote on the lobbyist's issue.

The link to the MSNBC article
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