Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Employee Speech topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee edits employee-speech language; senators warn changes could chill public employees
Summary
Members amended bill language to replace 'legislative body' with 'governing body' and 'measure' with 'warrant article'; several senators expressed continued concern that the bill could discourage public employees from speaking in their official capacity.
Members of a committee of conference approved word changes to an amendment intended to clarify limits on public employees' political activity, while several senators urged caution, arguing the bill may chill lawful speech by public employees.
The committee agreed to two specific edits to amendment 27‑98: change "legislative body" to "governing body" on page 1, line 4, and change the undefined term "measure" to the defined term "warrant article" (house‑amended bill, line 14). The sponsor of the change said the edit reflects how local select boards, rather than town meetings, exercise hiring authority: "Legislative bodies don't hire people. ... The governing body does. So I'd like to change the word legislative body to governing body," the member said.
Senator Parker said she appreciated the tightening but asked that the Senate retain its broader position and not bring the bill forward, citing concerns about ambiguity in the language and possible chilling effects on teachers, public safety employees and others. "Do we need this bill? Is this gonna have a chilling effect on our public employees?" she asked. Parker gave examples including classroom discussion of current elections and public safety officials speaking about security.
Senator Perkins also raised concerns and proposed a narrower reading of provisions that limit employee speech. Perkins asked the committee to remove a clause that limited employee statements to responses "from the public," arguing that public employees are experts who should be able to provide information without waiting for a public request.
The House accepted the proposed wording change; the committee agreed to prepare the amendment language for signatures. The committee record shows some members supporting the edits and others opposing the bill in principle; the final action on the broader bill was not taken at this meeting.
The transcript identifies the bill discussed as amendment 27‑98 and references the house‑amended text; members also referenced HB 340 in related remarks. The committee preserved the edits to the amendment language while leaving unresolved broader policy objections voiced by several senators.
