House Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel approves limited information-sharing with Ethics and Discrimination panels

The House Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel voted Friday to adopt a procedural amendment that permits, but does not require, the panel to share confidential information and records with the House Ethics Panel and the House Discrimination Prevention Panel to inform investigations.

Panel Chair Molly Burke, chair of the House Sexual Harassment Prevention Panel, opened the meeting and asked members to act on the change to the panel's rules. Attorney Maggie Farren explained that the amendment adds a subsection e to Rule 20 — which governs confidentiality — and that subsection expressly allows disclosure to members or staff of the Ethics Panel or the Discrimination Prevention Panel “to inform an investigation by either panel, provided that members of staff agree to maintain the confidentiality of the information or records provided.” Farren said the language mirrors a similar, permissive provision in the Ethics Panel's procedures.

The change is explicitly permissive rather than mandatory, Farren said, giving the panel discretion to decline information requests if procedural protections are not in place. “I'd imagine in my head, well, what if we this panel makes this change today, saying we can talk to them, but they don't make a change that reflects a prohibition on disclosing any conversation with this panel to the public for another 2 months,” Farren said, describing a scenario in which this panel might withhold disclosure until it is comfortable with counterpart procedures. Burke and other members discussed that the panels might need to communicate when repeated or widespread behavior emerges during separate investigations so each panel can assess severity and whether earlier matters exist.

Separately, the panel approved a housekeeping edit on the final page of the procedures that assigns custody of the panel's records to the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Legislative Information Technology rather than the Office of Legislative Council. Farren said the change reflects current recordkeeping practice and was suggested by a staff member named Damien to avoid later public-records confusion.

Panel members voted by voice to accept the procedural changes. Chair Molly Burke called for the vote; multiple members responded “Aye,” and Burke announced there were no objections. The transcript records the voice vote as: “All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Great.” The transcript does not state a mover or seconder by name and does not record a numerical roll-call tally.

The panel did not set any additional deadlines or follow-up actions on the record during the meeting. No statutory citations or external approvals were referenced during the discussion.