Tired of lies, KY legislative leaders may require committee witnesses to take an oath
The top two leaders of Kentucky’s General Assembly say they’re tired of hearing lies.
House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers are considering a rule change that would require witnesses who testify during legislative committee meetings to be sworn in under oath, possibly subjecting them to perjury charges if they lie.
“There have been several times, I won’t state specific instances, where some blatant misstatements of fact have been given in committee hearings,” Osborne, R-Prospect, said Friday.
He said those false statements often end up in news reports and “gets misinformation out there.”
“This is just a reminder that when you come to the table, you are expected to deliver truth and facts,” he said.
Osborne said he talked Wednesday to the 16 House committee chairs and told them they have the option now to swear in committee witnesses.
Some started the practice Thursday but Osborne said he did not know how many would use it.
He said he is talking with Senate President Robert Stivers about requiring all witnesses to be sworn in.
“We are having discussions with the House because we feel that a lot of people are coming to the table and know they can basically say anything,” said Stivers. “It should not be individuals’ prerogative to come in here and so distort or misrepresent what various facts are. It seems to be becoming more and more prevalent. We feel it’s becoming a real problem.”
Stivers, R-Manchester, declined to offer any examples of falsehoods being given to legislative committees.
He said he has not yet told the 12 Senate committee chairs if they can swear in committee witnesses.
“We need to start setting up some protocols because we know there have been some things said to committees in testimony that are flat out wrong,” he said.
Stivers also said he and Osborne are researching what penalties could be imposed on someone who lies to a state legislative committee.
He mentioned possible perjury charges, a ban from testifying and a referral to the Legislative Ethics Commission.
Stivers said they want to make sure they do not impede or deter people from participating in the legislative process by testifying before committees, “but you also have to hold people accountable on what they do or what they say if it is knowingly false or misleading.”
Legislators would not have to be sworn in when they talk about their bills before committee because they have immunity when talking about their bills, Osborne said.
Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, has filed in previous years a bill that would require all committee witnesses to be put under oath as the U.S. Congress does.
“We deal with very important legislation, and people can come in and say whatever they want to about it without reprisal,” said Thomas. “When we are impacting 4.5 million lives and don’t commit witnesses to tell the truth, we aren’t doing our job.”s
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 11:41 AM.
