1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

I'm asking you to veto House Bill 4177. This bill undermines Oregon's Public Meetings Law, which has protected transparent government since 1973. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission warned that HB 4177 "is effectively rewriting the Public Meetings Law in ways that create much more ambiguity and inhibit enforcement, and doing so in a short session without any public involvement." These concerns only came to light through a public records request. The bill was developed by a work group that excluded media organizations, despite their central role in creating the original law and its amendments. HB 4177 would allow full-quorum gatherings of governing bodies with no meeting notice, no minutes or recordings, and no news media observers. Rather than clarifying rules around serial communications, it expands permissions for daisy-chain discussions that let officials deliberate without public oversight. The Legislature passed this during the short session without full access to legal analysis about its consequences. Oregon's Public Meetings Law exists because "the Oregon form of government requires an informed public aware of the deliberations and decisions of governing bodies." HB 4177 violates that principle. Your decades of public service have shown commitment to open government. This is the moment to exercise that leadership and veto this bill.