CREDENTIALING

The credentialing process will be administered by the Sergeant at Arms. There shall be no intervention or interference from any Senator or partisan staff person at any time unless or until there is an appeal before the Rules Committee.

Organizations owned or controlled by registered lobbyists, political parties or other party organizations (defined as organizations registered with the Campaign Finance Board or the Federal Election Commission) shall not be granted credentials.

The Senate must not define who is a reporter, however, due to issues of space, the Senate has a compelling interest in limiting media credentialing to reporters demonstrating frequency and seriousness. For that reason the following rules apply:

1. Organizations or individuals requesting credentials must furnish, upon the request of the Sergeant at Arms, three (3) pieces (written, video or otherwise) on matters before the legislature written or recorded in the past year. Any opinion in such pieces is immaterial to review.
2. For session passes, the Sergeant at Arms shall be given up to fourteen (14) days for review.
3. If an applicant is rejected, the Sergeant must state the reason in writing and notify the applicant, the Secretary of the Senate, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader in writing.
4. The Sergeant at Arms may grant day passes within the 14-day window to organizations complying with the other above rules if space permits.

APPEALS

Any appeal for denied credentialing must be brought forth in writing to the Secretary of the Senate, the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader. A Rules Committee review and ruling must take place within thirty (30) days of receiving a letter of appeal.

PRIVELEGE OF CREDENTIALED REPORTERS

The Secretary shall provide no fewer than 6 spaces for news reporters on the Senate floor, and no fewer than 10 spaces in the Senate gallery. Because of limited space on the floor, no fewer than 4 spaces will be reserved for reporters from media organizations with leases in the Capitol press area. All other media gallery access will be governed on a first-come, first-served basis to credentialed reporters. However, should the designated space fill, organizations may have no more than one member if other organizations cannot be accommodated. (Note: organizations can be as small as a single reporter.) All credentialed reporters shall be given the same documents and preand post-floor session access given to reporters at the floor tables.