Although state Senate leaders voted last month to not webcast Senate floor sessions — and to take down expensive Web cameras that already had been purchased and installed — some live streaming of legislative proceedings could be on the Internet next week.

Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, said Thursday she purchased a Web camera for about $180 and intends to start on Monday streaming live from meetings of House committees on which she serves.

In another webcasting development, Jim Williams, news director of KUNM, 89.9 FM said his station's Web site will begin webcasting audio from the Senate floor starting Tuesday. Williams said he has not sought permission, saying the Legislature's proceedings are public.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, who opposes the video webcasting, said Thursday he has no problem with KUNM's planned audio webcast.

Meanwhile, Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, on Thursday told a reporter he talked with senators from both parties about forcing a vote on reinstalling the cameras and beginning webcasts of Senate floor sessions. The state spent about $30,000 last year on video equipment and installed cameras in the Senate Chambers. But last month, the Senate's Committees Committee voted not to contract with a service to provide the webcasting, citing the state budget crunch. The cameras came down a few days before the session started.

But Boitano noted it could be an uphill battle because leaders of both parties in the Senate are opposed to webcasting. This week, Boitano said, the Senate Finance Committee voted down a move by Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, to add $7,000 to the Feed Bill (House Bill 1) for the purpose of webcasting.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, New Mexico is one of only five states that does not have some type of webcasting (Some states only stream audio without video). But two of the five, Hawaii and Rhode Island, broadcast floor sessions and some committee meetings on television.

The state Republican Party on Thursday came out strongly in favor of the webcasts.

"Thanks to decades of Democrat Party dominance and the Richardson-Denish administration's failure to address corruption, New Mexico is seen as a back-room-deal kind of state," state GOP Chairman Harvey Yates said in a news release. "Refusing to broadcast the legislature only makes it worse. ... We can get on the computer and watch the snow fall in Germany but we can't watch our elected officials in action in Santa Fe."

Even though Republicans have taken the lead on the issue, both support for and opposition to webcasting is bipartisan. Five of the 13 votes against a memorial by Boitano last year to instruct the Legislative Council to arrange to start streaming Senate proceedings on the Internet were Republicans, including Minority Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales. Of the 27 who voted in favor of the measure, 15 were Democrats and 12 were Republicans.

Those who spoke against Boitano's measure last year said webcasting would cause lawmakers to play to the cameras with "grandstanding" speeches. Supporters said the grandstanding already occurs.

Sanchez said Thursday his main concern about Webcasts is that senators would stay in their offices watching the sessions on their computers and only show up at the last minute for the vote. This, he said, happened with Congress with the advent of C-SPAN, which televises sessions of Congress.

Audio from both chambers for years has been piped into various offices in the Capitol, including those of legislators. Sanchez said video feeds would make it more tempting for senators who wanted to skip the sessions.

Arnold-Jones said she decided on her own to webcast for the benefit of her constituents who can't make it to Santa Fe for her committee meetings.

She said she intends to stream live from meetings of the two standing committees she's part of — Taxation & Revenue and Voters & Elections.

Arnold-Jones said she might eventually try webcasting House floor sections — although a rule against cameras on the floor might pre-empt that.

Her Web site set up for the stream says, "Nothing shown or recorded on the web cast will be used for political purposes or campaigns." However she admitted there's no way to stop anyone from using her sound or images in political ads.

She said she discussed her project with Republican leaders but has not yet spoken with House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, about it. Asked about the webcasts on Thursday, Luján said, "I don't know anything about it. Until I find out what she's doing, I can't give an intelligent answer."

Arnold-Jones said besides the cost of the camera, she's spent less than $50 for hosting the stream on the Internet and $59.95 a month on a Verizon Wireless Aircard.

The move for streaming the Senate began four years ago, when Boitano successfully carried a bill that appropriated $75,000 for webcasting of the Senate, but the ball didn't start rolling until last year when the Senate passed Boitano's memorial.

On the first day of the session this week, Boitano said in a speech on the Senate floor, "My constituents want more openness, more transparency. By taking down the cameras, we're making the statement we want to be less open, less transparent."

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.

ON THE WEB

* Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones' Webcast: www.civicplaza.net/house.php

* KUNM: www.kunm.org