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Mixed reaction as sponsor seeks penalties and testimony restrictions for state employees who give false statements
Summary
Representative Potenza introduced changes to statutes that would bar state employees who "knowingly provide false information" from testifying before committees and expose them to potential criminal penalties. Multiple agency witnesses and former House leaders raised due-process, separation-of-powers, and chilling-effect concerns.
Representative Potenza introduced language intended to bar state employees who "knowingly provide false information" before a committee from further testimony and to make them "liable for perjury" or related offenses. The proposal also referenced identification badges for state employees who appear before committees.
Why it matters: The bill would add a criminal and administrative sanction tied to testimony by executive-branch employees before legislative committees, raising constitutional and practical concerns about who determines falsity, what process is used, and whether the measure would chill interbranch communication.
What transpired at the hearing
- Agency concerns and chilling effect: John Williams, legislative director for the Department of Health and Human…
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