SB 6617 has been vetoed. I support the veto.

I want to thank all of you who reached out to me and let me know your disappointment in my vote for SB 6617. The bill opened up legislative calendars, all correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists, and final decisions of investigations and disciplinary proceedings. While I still think the policy has merit, I really missed the mark by voting for a bill this significant without insisting it go through the typical legislative processes. Your emails and voicemails convinced me the process was so flawed that we need to start over.

You were right. Your feedback taught me that diverse constituent input is absolutely necessary to make sure our democracy works.That’s why I joined dozens of House Democrats who asked the Governor to veto the bill yesterday. We need a do-over. And fortunately, we will have one.

There is an ongoing legal challenge on this issue. The case is still in appeal and I will push for the Supreme Court to rule on the issue because I believe the analysis applied by the Superior Court is not legally defensible. That said, I am pleased that the House will begin a public process engaging legislators, open government advocates, representatives of the news media, the Governor’s office, Office of the Attorney General and state archivist over the next nine months to make recommendations on legislative records to the 2019 Legislature.

In the meantime, I am going to work with my office to voluntarily provide the records the bill would have required.

Thank you again for holding me accountable and for making the Legislature more open to the people it serves.

Sincerely,