My statement on the veto of Senate Bill 6617
Friends & Constituents,
I am sorry.
I’ve heard you loud and clear that Senate Bill 6617 should not stand. You were rightly concerned about the rushed process and lack of transparency in the passage of such a significant bill.
Please know that I have agonized these last few days with a vote that was so out of step with my personal values of an open, transparent and fair process of consideration. It is my deepest regret that I have contributed to undermining your trust in your democracy.
The unacceptable process by which this bill passed through the Legislature undid whatever merit it had in opening up legislative records. I recognize that no matter my intention, my vote for the bill was a vote for the process. And for that, I apologize.
Last night, I joined many of my colleagues in asking Governor Inslee to veto Senate Bill 6617, and he did indeed veto it.
Now, we can start fresh, and allow for the time and careful deliberation needed for such an important issue. This interim, a task force of legislators, open-government advocates, representatives of the news media, the governor and the attorney general will engage in a public process to collaborate on recommendations for a new bill in 2019 to address the disclosure of legislative records.
Thank you to all of you who held me accountable and reminded of me of why I am here. You fueled me to ask questions, push back, and work toward finding a solution.
You have done tremendous work in asking your citizen legislators to be the best versions of themselves.
No matter the result of the lawsuit or the collaborative task force, I am committing to you that I will disclose the records that would have been required of me in Senate Bill 6617. I plan to work with my staff to establish a system to disclose my calendar of legislative activities and all communications with lobbyists, both retroactively and moving forward.
In addition, I will be engaging in the stakeholder and public process this interim to get this right.
Thank you again for voicing your opinions, engaging with me, and holding your government accountable.
Sincerely,
Rep. Noel Frame
The text of the letter sent to the governor is as follows:
“Dear Governor Inslee:
We have heard loud and clear from our constituents that they are angry and frustrated with the process by which we passed ESB 6617, the Legislative Public Records Act. We supported the bill because of the important transparency reforms that it would enact. These include requiring that for the first time the Legislature would make public all lobbyist communications with legislators; calendar information for legislators; and records related to completed disciplinary investigations, while preserving privacy protections for constituents.
However, we made a mistake by failing to go through a full public hearing process on this very important legislation. The hurried process has overshadowed the positive reforms in the bill.
We think that the only way to make this right is for you to veto the bill and for us to start again. We will convene a task force including legislators; open government advocates; representatives of the news media; representatives of your office, the office of the Attorney General, and the state archivist to engage in a public process over the next nine months to make recommendations to the 2019 Legislature regarding the release of legislative records.
We look forward to working with you to uphold Washington’s strong traditions of transparency and open government.”