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Committee backs SB 5 changing appointments to archives and history board amid concerns about politicization
Summary
Senate Bill 5, which expands and reconfigures the Archives and History Board and makes the governor a voting member, was reported favorably after senators discussed the makeup of the board, the reasons for the governor's increased appointment authority and concerns that the change could politicize the board.
A Senate committee gave SB 5 a favorable report after discussion about changing the composition and appointing authorities for the state Archives and History Board.
The sponsor said the bill increases the board's size, gives the governor eight appointment slots, the speaker four and the pro tempore four, for a total of 17 voting members with the governor included as a voting member rather than ex officio. The bill retains diversity language requiring geographic and racial representation; two appointments (one from the speaker and one from the pro tempore) would be chosen from lists compiled by the minority leaders so minority caucuses retain influence.
Several senators praised the work of the current board and the archives staff, noting the board is predominantly volunteer and credited with preserving artifacts and historical displays. At the same time, some senators expressed concern that shifting appointment authority toward the governor and increasing the board's partisan appointments could make the board more partisan and risk narrowing the range of historical perspectives represented. One senator said she would vote no for that reason; another said she would probably abstain but wanted to see how appointments played out.
The committee adopted a compromise substitute that contains the changes under discussion and then moved and seconded a motion to report the substitute favorably. The clerk recorded the roll; the committee reported SB 5 favorably.
