House committee approves bill allowing Archive board members to be removed at will

 The House Committee on State Government on Wednesday approved a bill by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, that would reshape the board and allow members to be removed for any reason.

Senate Bill 5 is the latest version of Elliott’s attempt to punish the Department of Archives and History for a one-hour program it hosted in the summer of 2023 recounting LGBTQ history in the state and difficulties discrimination caused in archiving that history.

Elliott initially attempted to strip millions in funding from the department during a special session, and since that failed, has brought this bill forward to give the governor and lawmakers more control of the board.

The bill died last session after a committee amended the bill, removing language allowing board members to be removed without cause and replacing it with language requiring removals to prove “just cause.”

The version of the bill passed by House committee on Wednesday maintains the language allowing appointing authorities to remove their appointees at any time.

Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, said the language could lead to the “hyper-politicization” of the board.

“The minute somebody starts to screaming or complaining about something, politicians do what politicians do,” Chestnut said.

The bill would effectively give the governor full control of the board by designating eight members of the 17-member board his or her appointees, while also granting the governor themself voting power. That’s a nine-vote majority on any issue. 

The bill also provides four appointments each to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore. In each chamber, one of those appointments will be made from nominees from minority leaders.

The bill could now be placed on the House special order calendar at any time with only approval from the full House needed to become law.