CAPITOL HEARINGS

No-question policy at hearing draws criticism

Committee chairwoman said she didn't allow questions about sect children because of ongoing investigation

The testimony by Commissioner Carey Cockerell of the Department of Family and Protective Services before a Senate panel Wednesday was unusual — and not just because the topic was the largest child welfare operation in state history.

Senators weren't allowed to ask questions, which is not the typical procedure when agency heads testify before Senate committees.

"Members, to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing investigation," committee chairwoman Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said at the start of the meeting, "I'm going to ask you to please direct any follow-up questions to the commissioner in private after the hearing."

Although several senators said they agreed with the format, some critics are questioning whether it was overly cautious.

"It's totally outrageous," said Texas Civil Rights Project director Jim Harrington, who has criticized the state's decision to remove more than 460 children from a polygamist sect's ranch in West Texas and place them in foster care. "What's the point of having oversight if you're not going to have oversight?"

The committee scheduled this week's meeting about foster care in February, before the Eldorado case began.

None of the senators violated Nelson's rule, though that might have been difficult because she decides whether to recognize a senator to speak.

"I think most of us understand that when you have legal actions going on, that it creates an unusual situation for the state, and we did not want to complicate that," said state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville.

"There was nothing really prohibiting me from just asking questions except my respect for the lawyers who are working on these cases."

State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, said he understood why senators couldn't question Cockerell.

"The concern was that he may slip up, he may say the wrong thing, somehow opening the door to the investigation," Uresti said.

"The last thing I want to do is ask a question that he answers that some attorney representing the perpetrators could use somehow to get them off the hook for what appears is sexual assault. I would rather err on the side of caution."

However, Uresti said the senators should have been able to question Cockerell about the impact of the Eldorado children on the foster system.

"I don't see how that affects the litigation or the investigation," he said.

That was one of four topics Nelson had asked Cockerell to discuss. She told him that she didn't think he fully responded and requested elaboration in writing. He responded that evening with a two-page memo.

A spokesman for Cockerell, Patrick Crimmins, declined to comment on whether the commissioner had requested the no-question format.

Nelson said: "Ultimately, it's the chair's decision." She did not elaborate.

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said the request came from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Dewhurst spokesman Mike Wintemute said he was not aware of such a request.

cmaclaggan@statesman.com; 445-3548