Commentary: Senate Majority Leader Michael S. Sanchez (D-29-Valencia, Bernalillo) will introduce a rule change to ensure that the general public is allowed to attend future state of the state addresses by the governor. Sanchez will introduce the rule change in response to the decision by the House of Representatives to reserve virtually all of the nearly 300 seats in the public gallery for guests of the governor and members of the House on opening day of the 2016 legislative session.
“The Capitol is the people’s building. It is unconscionable to effectively deny the public an opportunity to attend and witness the opening day of the legislative session and the governor’s state of the state address,” Sanchez said.
The rule change will prohibit any seats in the gallery from being reserved during joint sessions, ensuring that all seats would be available for the public. Joint sessions of the legislature occur when the House and Senate meet at the same time in the House chamber. The joint rules of the legislature govern the conduct of joint sessions.