February 23, 2017

Dear Mr. Griffiths,

We, the members of the Senate Republican Caucus, write to you in regards to your
article, Four Republicans Voted to Allow Russian Meddling in our Elections, published on
February 22nd. The article concerned the voting habits of four republican members assigned to
the Education, Health and, Environmental Affairs Committee. Specifically, it discussed their
vote on Senate Bill 190.
As you know, it is the duty of the committees to vet legislation before it reaches the entire
body of the Senate Chamber. The committee process is designed to create efficiencies within
legislative bodies by expediting the hearing process and allowing Senators to work with
legislation affecting topics they are familiar with. By far, the most important step in this process
is the hearing. During the hearing for Senate Bill 190, the bill was falsely presented as a simple
routine streamlining of pre-existing programs. Lasting only three minutes, the sponsor misled the
committee as to the actual impact of the bill for the entirety of the hearing. Under these false
pretenses our members, Senators Bates, Simonaire, Salling and Waugh voted for the bill.
When the true consequences of the bill became apparent, our four committee members
alerted the caucus to the dangers of the bill and joined us in opposition. During the floor debate,
Senator Simonaire, the senior republican member of the Education, Health and, Environmental
Committee, spoke about his disappointment in being misled during the hearing and detailed why
he was altering his vote. He, along with his three fellow committee members, then voted against
Senate Bill 190 when it came up for a second reader vote (attached). They continued their
opposition of the bill for the entirety of the senate floor debate and supported the final measure to
recommit the bill to committee.
The procedures of the Senate carry an inherent system of checks and balances that
ensures each bill is thoroughly reviewed before receiving final approval. In this instance the
procedures worked as designed. From the second reader vote, you will note, even President
Miller supported Senate Bill 190 before siding with our caucus by motioning to recommit the bill
to committee. The very motion that effectively killed the bill.
Sincerely,

Senator J.B. Jennings Senator Stephen S. Hershey Jr.

Senate Minority Leader Senate Minority Whip

Senator Bryan W. Simonaire Senator Gail H. Bates

Senator Steve Waugh Senator Johnny Ray Salling