Governor Kevin Stitt is calling on the Legislature to go back to the drawing board when it comes to financial disclosures of high-ranking state officials. He vetoed Senate Bill 1695 on Tuesday.
SB 1695, authored by Senator Casey Murdock and Representative Carl Newton, would have required gubernatorial appointees for agency director or cabinet secretary positions to file a financial disclosure statement. The House and Senate passed the bill unanimously.
In his veto statement, Stitt said SB 1695 wasn’t fair.
“Most gubernatorial appointees are already subject to Senate confirmation. I would urge the Legislature to revisit this topic and pass legislation that subjects all state officers – whether elected, appointed, or subject to a retention election – to the same set of financial disclosure requirements. This would include, but not be limited to, agency directors and certain state officers selected by boards or commissions and those appointed by the Legislature,” Stitt wrote in his veto statement.
No word yet if the Legislature would attempt a veto override on the bi-partisan, transparency measure.
