Chances are, you’re being recorded at the State House. It should stay that way.

The rules around privacy are changing quickly.

Whether it’s the FBI and Apple fighting over cellphones or the live-out-loud world created by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, expectations of privacy aren’t what they once were.

But the State House is one place where there has never been an expectation of privacy, at least not for the functions and operations of government.

Unfortunately, there’s a quiet debate going on that could take the Legislature backwards and unwind progress in improving public access to state government.

When the Legislature holds a committee hearing, Maine law requires it be held in public, open for anyone who wants to attend. The same is true for sessions of the House and Senate.

Public hearings are also broadcast, including testimony from people who testify.

Video from the House and Senate is streamed online so anyone with an Internet connection can watch. Audio is also available from 14 standing committees.

This year, the Legislature updated the equipment it uses to provide these streaming services. The update also created new functionality: the ability to save the audio and video from the Legislature.

Currently, the recordings are only available as a response to a Freedom of Access Act request, but in its planning the Legislature’s professional staff was laying the groundwork to make the recordings easily accessible online.

It’s a tremendous leap in functionality and a major improvement for public access to the important work done in the Legislature.

But during a recent meeting of legislative leaders, state Sen. Garrett Mason, a Republican from Lisbon, objected to the recordings and to the system that would make the archive publicly available.

First reported by the Sun Journal, the debate happened in what’s known as Legislative Council, which is made up of the speaker of the House, the Senate president and the other elected members of the Legislature’s leadership.

The last day of the 127th Legislature at the State House in Augusta. Gabor Degre | BDN

The last day of the 127th Legislature at the State House in Augusta. Gabor Degre | BDN

The Legislative Council isn’t well known outside folks who follow the inner workings of the Legislature, but it’s the place where decisions about the administrative functions of the House and Senate are made.

The council has a lot of power to control what bills get heard and to run the physical plant of the State House.

At its April 28 meeting, Mason objected to the new functionality that archives the audio and video from the Legislature. He tried to put an immediate stop to the recordings.

Instead, the council decided to continue for the session that ended last Friday, but voted 9-0, with one member absent, to suspend the recordings for committee members in the next Legislature pending another vote of the Legislative Council.

Mason says he’s concerned with the privacy of individuals who testify or participate in the legislative process. Maybe.

But I suspect he’s also concerned that audio from the committee hearings and video from the floor will be used by political opponents to make advertisements.

My advice would be for lawmakers to always conduct themselves like the cameras are rolling. Then they don’t have to worry about that.

According to materials provided to the Legislative Council, eight other states have implemented streaming and archiving services with the same company doing the work for Maine.

Right now, written committee testimony is archived online along with other details of a bill’s legislative history. If someone doesn’t provide written testimony, his or her thoughts could be lost to history without video archiving.

Audio and video of the proceedings would be invaluable for individuals concerned about how a bill becomes a law (it ain’t like the old Schoolhouse Rock cartoon, that’s for sure).

I understand that people might be a little nervous testifying before the Legislature, particularly if they know it’s being recorded. But, frankly, it happens all the time. The media, staffers, advocates and lobbyists record proceedings now. They are public, after all.

It’s absolutely reasonable to post warnings in committee rooms that informs participants that they are being recorded. After all, the whole debate is about information.

But I hope that legislative leaders, when they reconsider recording committee meetings and public hearings, will do the right thing and allow greater access to information for the vast majority of people who might never make it to Augusta but who would like to see how their government functions.

As a side note, during the same meeting where the council debated and at least temporarily halted archiving recordings from committee meetings, members moved forward with the installation of new security cameras in the State House, assuming there’s enough money.

So if you’re there, smile and be polite. Chances are you’re on camera.

It seems that privacy concerns only go so far.

David Farmer

About David Farmer

David Farmer is a political and media consultant in Portland, where he lives with his wife and two children. He was senior adviser to Democrat Mike Michaud’s campaign for governor and a longtime journalist. You can reach him at dfarmer14@hotmail.com.