SB 6617, which would have exempted lawmakers from the state Public Records Act, was vetoed by the Governor on Thursday, March 1. Prior to his veto, the Governor received letters signed by nearly 60 Democratic legislators admitting that they “made a mistake by failing to go through a full public hearing process on this very important legislation.” The entire House Republican Caucus also sent the Governor a letter stating that his veto of SB 6617 was “a good start.” The Democratic lawmakers requested that the Governor veto the bill. In addition, the signing legislators pledged to convene a nine-month task force to review and recommend public records reforms to the 2019 Legislature. The committee will be made up of legislators, open-government advocates, representatives from the news media, and other state officials.
SB 6617 passed within 48 hours after introduction, without a public hearing or floor debate. Each chamber had passed the bill with a veto-proof number of votes. Within the following week the Governor’s Office received close to 19,000 emails, calls, and letters opposing the legislation – an unprecedented level of response from the public and other stakeholders.
AWC is engaging with the Legislature as it decides on the membership of the task force.