 Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here. I am proud to be here to sign house bill 1175 the lobbying reform act which will update and modernize the way lobbying is done here in Harrisburg This legislation is a piece of the effort to change the way business is done in Harrisburg It's to create a more open and transparent government for the people of Pennsylvania This legislation addresses a very big concern among Pennsylvania citizens And that concern is that Harrisburg politicians are more interested in the opinions of special interests than in their constituents And that concern I'm afraid is justified When I arrived here, I found an outsized influence from outside interests on the business that gets done in this building The influence of these lobbyists touched every aspect of this government. That's why I'm doing things differently I want to ensure that my administration has the best interests of Pennsylvanians at heart rather than the best interests of special interests in their representatives This is crucial because to govern effectively. We need to rebuild trust in government and We need to make sure that citizens across the Commonwealth Know that when we pass bills when we create laws, we're doing so on their behalf That's why one of my first acts as governor was to institute a gift ban for all employees in the executive branch That's why I refuse to take a salary These steps are important because they show that we're here in Harrisburg to govern not to enrich ourselves or hobnob with well-healed special interests and that effort is strengthened by House bill 1175 This bill which I'm going to sign into law today modernizes our lobbying rules Making them more transparent and more open and it enforces stiffer penalties for not playing by the rules This bill will make lobbying disclosures entirely electronic So that the people of Pennsylvania can see for themselves the lobbyists who are registered What they are doing and how they're spending their money on the causes they represent This will allow the Department of State to process these filings faster and a more end in a more open and transparent way This bill also strengthens penalties and fines that special interests will have to pay for not playing by the rules It doubles the fines for not filing reports on expenditures to the Department of State and it increases daily fines for failing to report Additionally, this bill mandates that all lobbying disclosures must be posted within seven days of their filing So that our citizens have the most up-to-date information on what lobbyists are doing right here in these halls This legislation is long overdue. It's going to help create a more open honest and again transparent government here in Harrisburg One that is more accountable to the people the citizens of Pennsylvania. I Am glad to sign this bill today Which represents a continuation of all of our efforts in the administration and in the legislature? To create a more open and honest government and to change the way that business is done here in Harrisburg If we want the people of Pennsylvania to believe that the work being done in this building is being done on their behalf and For their benefit for their benefit alone We must ensure that they can trust the that well-healed special interests do not call the shots here Our constituents need to be sure that when they send a representative to Harrisburg They're sending someone who is going to be working on their behalf This bill helps to make our citizens confident that they are the ones in charge in Harrisburg So I want to thank our partners in the legislature for passing this bill and for making for working to make a more open government And I especially want to congratulate and thank Representative Cutler who's the prime sponsor of this bill and who's going to speak in just a minute who worked diligently to get this to my desk And I pledge to continue to partner with representative Cutler and all those who want to make this government more transparent I pledge to continue to work to change the culture of this town for the better And I pledge to continue to work to make sure our citizens know that their opinions are the ones that matter the most So thank you and now I'd like to introduce representative Cutler Ryan Good afternoon. Thank you very much for everybody being here. I'd like to take this time to personally thank representative Brandon Newman He was my Democratic counterpart on this proposal as we've worked through at the last 10 or 11 years He was a good partner who has since moved on to become a member of the judiciary out in Washington County I think this bill and this proposal is the governor indicated Really demonstrates what we can all do when we're willing to work together for the betterment of all the citizens of the Commonwealth I've always said throughout this entire process as we work through each legislative session If people believe in what we do in order for them to do that in order for them to believe in the product They have to believe in the process. This makes the process more accountable Makes it more transparent and most importantly it also Assist the lobbyists because they now will get an electronic receipt when they file Much like we track packages that we order from Amazon where we file other reports online or make payments online It will close the loop so that we'll have a definitive proof of when things were filed I think it's important to increase that accountability on both sides I'd like to thank the governor and his office. They were fabulous to work with as well as my colleagues in the house in The Senate it's been a long time coming and I'm certainly looking forward to this and I'll now turn it over to the secretary Thank You representative Cutler. Thank You governor I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today for today signing into law of House bill 1175 and to support your strong commitment to ensuring an open transparent government that works in addition to election administration Campaign finance reporting and disclosure professional Licensure and the registration of corporate and charitable organizations the Department of State Overseas lobbying disclosure registration and reporting. We currently have 2,966 lobbyist lobbying firms and principals registered in Pennsylvania The Department of State aims to provide the highest standards of accurate courteous and timely service House bill 1175 is the latest example of how we continue to seek ways to streamline our Operations and improve services with the electronic filing of registrations and expense reports House bill 1175 is a requirement that all lobbying disclosures be filed electronically will help transition transition approximately 20% of filings that are currently received on paper this bill also increases the administrative penalties that can be imposed upon Under the lobbying disclosure act and some of the legislation's Changes including the new penalties will be effective immediately while the rest will be implemented over the next 60 days Thank you to everyone who worked to get this bill passed It helps to improve government operations Reduces Commonwealth expenses and advances the law's most important value Transparency we look forward to supporting other opportunities to achieve achieve the same outcomes. Thank you for the opportunity to participate today Thank you very much now. I'm gonna we're gonna sit down here, and I'm gonna sign the bill then I'm gonna come back here and answer questions on topic and Just in case there are questions not on topic. I'll take those questions, too But first we're gonna sign the bill. Okay now any questions on topic Yes System And maybe representative Keller would talk about this, but I think Basically, this is this is an attempt to do a better job of making more transparent The filings that are already enshrined in current regulations and to make sure that that the regulations are actually being adhered to on a timely basis Is that Yes, the governor's correct in terms of the current approach much of it can be Used utilizing the existing resources. There was a slight fiscal note that was attached to about the House and the Senate Mainly related to the computer upgrades that would be required to send the electronic receipts that I referenced during my comments But the idea is to try to use existing resources to cover these upgrades because I think it's something that everyone expects you know in terms of Streamlining the process and hopefully those efficiencies can then be driven back into the system Yes Robert you want to Yes, that's correct. So this this bill would force the the other 20% to to transmit electronically I don't have that information available I think there's a sense that there is less than a hundred percent Compliance with the regulations and this will help us get closer to a hundred percent, right? Yeah, there's I believe last year I think there was 14 is the number that sticks in my mind. We have pulled the numbers Because I actually see I'm Janesh we saw it in the audience had asked me this earlier if I remember correctly And we had I had the break breakdown for each year It is improving but one of the other areas of concerns regarding the current system is there's some Uncertainty in what to do if the computer systems down versus, you know, the law seems to imply and we clear this up with this language Thanks to everybody's involvement and highlight in the problem The law seems to imply once you start filing by computer you can never file by paper Which implies even if it's down so by streamlining it Makes it a lot clearer that you know filing is of the utmost importance and then we can get everything in But the the number of individuals who are non-compliant is Improving but again, I think it's important that we recognize for people to have faith in the process In the product you have to be as transparent as you can on each of these issues And I can email it to you as well Anything else on topic? Yes That's a good question We're finally catching up in terms of some of the reporting You know, there was some issues related to the lobbying disclosure law when it was first implemented There were some constitutional questions that were raised. It's been it's been redone. This significantly improves us and brings us more in line with other states Anything else? Okay, any questions not on topic. Thanks a lot guys Yes I haven't decided I'm a party to the litigation so as a party to the litigation I have Standing to submit a map and and if I do I will do it by five o'clock tomorrow The the good question that the the court gave me the Responsibility for looking at the map that was submitted to me by the legislature and to decide whether I thought that met the standard of a fair map I've done that I rejected the map And as far as I know that was specifically what they asked me to do As a defendant in this case as governor of Pennsylvania I have standing to actually present my own map So I think I can say that I've already done with the court as they asked me to do in terms of judging and serving as the Arbitr whether the map that I got was fair I decided that it was not And if I go and do something beyond that that that's something I'm doing because I'm a party to the litigation I'm not sure as I say I haven't I haven't made the decision yet Yeah, I mean that there is there are other people with standing who may or may not I don't know who is going to submit a map or not. I think That I have that that option and and if I do it, it will be by tomorrow at five o'clock Yeah, I think one of the tough things I'm I want a fair map and and Codiguity compactness Minimizing splits those are all parts of a fair map and I think whatever the fair map ends up being I think it minimizes the amount the number of splits and and That's important. It's not the only criterion. However As I say if I first provide a map, it'll be by five o'clock tomorrow and rather than dealing in speculation or hypotheticals I'm gonna do what I end up doing. Yeah Selecting what they feel is a fair map and do you feel as well? There might be any advantage to asking the court for an extension to try to work this out in a negotiated product I Did not have a problem and I don't have a problem with the time frame the court laid out I think in this case the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has an obligation to Make sure that our democracy is running according to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That's their job I think that's what they have been doing here. That's what they're trying to do here And and I think they've given us a timeline. They've given us the the rules the constraints that we're operating under and I think that we ought to be honoring that those constraints Anything else You mean you mean it all like the mathematician from touch and all the people like that how much Yeah, I don't have that but I'll get that for you. Yeah So they know how to respond why not give them one to facilitate the negotiation ahead of the deadline, right? First of all, I don't have one That's one reason The second reason is that's not what the Supreme Court said Supreme Court said they will give me a map And I will be the arbiter as to whether it's fair or not. So I'm not sure why The rules change in the course of this I'm I've Express my willingness to work with the Legislature the Republicans have met with them To work with them to get to a fair map and I continue to stand by that But the time is running out tomorrow at five o'clock is the deadline Not at this point Administration Actually, I think of you know an elementary school students have the sophistication to draw a fair map No, I'm not I'm in that's a serious answer There's actually been an elementary school class that actually drafted a map that that was pretty fair I think this is not something that takes a computer. It doesn't take a wizard it takes somebody who actually wants to do something fair and My goal is to have a fair map I think the Supreme Court's goal is to have a fair map and I'm hoping that everybody in this process wants to end up at the Same place we will probably have some disagreements over where the fairness is evidently. I have a disagreement with the Republicans in the Legislature, but I think we can get to a fair map and and that as citizens We we have the ability to draw a fair map and to judge whether the map is in fact fair Whatever takes to draw a map and submit it. Yeah, or the people that that that I've engaged to to work with me Yeah, I haven't made that decision at this point, but that is an option Yeah Okay, first of all, I'm not a lawyer and I'm certainly not a constitutional lawyer But it seems to me that that the Supreme Court does have the ability in a case affecting Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the democracy as we practice it here in the Commonwealth to weigh in I think that's what they've done. So as a as a as someone who watches What different branches of government do to pass legislation? But also to serve as stewards of our democracy seems to me that they're acting in a responsible way here