On Thursday, the clouds broke over Salem. Governor Tina Kotek issued her only veto of the 2026 legislative session, striking down House Bill 4177, which had passed after being championed by Hillsboro legislator Nathan Sosa. In doing so, she didn’t just reject a poorly written bill; she validated the warnings of journalists, ethics experts, and every citizen who refused to accept a “cloaked” version of democracy.
As we analyzed in our investigation last week, the sections of this bill I was most worried about—Sections 1 and 7—were the very sections that made this legislation impossible for a pro-accountability Governor to sign. The Herald came out swinging on this Bill as soon as it was processed, and more so after it passed.
Governor Kotek, Veto HB 4177 Before the Doors Close for Good – We Are Loosing Our Sunshine
The “Private Planning” Nightmare
The core of our opposition was a simple, terrifying reality: Section 7 would have legalized secret meetings that are currently against the law.
We must never allow a situation where, for example, a quorum of the Hillsboro City Council can drive to a developer’s office, huddle over private maps, and “gather information” on a massive land expansion or a new industrial data center without a single public notice or a single minute of recorded history. Under the current law, that is an ethics violation. Under HB 4177, it would have been “fact-finding.”
If that bill had become law, the future of Hillsboro’s borders—and the tax dollars that support them—could have been quietly traded for political favors in private living rooms and backroom offices. By the time those projects reached a “public” meeting, the ink would have been dry, and the public’s voice would have been irrelevant.
The Experts Agreed: Transparency Was at Risk
Governor Kotek’s veto message echoed exactly what we’ve been shouting from the rooftops of the Herald: “We must get the details right to ensure Oregonians can trust government is operating openly and ethically.”
The Governor listened to the “outcry” from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Oregon News Publishers Association. She listened when the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) warned that candidate interviews and major briefings would “go dark.”
These weren’t “clarity” fixes for volunteer board members. They were loopholes designed to shield the “deliberations” of the powerful.
Follow the Money—The Conflict Remained
We also cannot forget the fiscal and ethical mess this bill created. As we exposed, the $325,000 taxpayer price tag was a direct result of the bill’s design. By shifting ethics investigations from individual officials to “public bodies,” the bill created a conflict for the DOJ that would have forced the state to hire private outside counsel.
Is it a coincidence that the sponsor’s campaign was fueled by tens of thousands from the legal sector? Perhaps. But the Governor’s veto ensures that taxpayer money won’t be funneled into private law firms to litigate the very secrecy this bill tried to legalize.
Eyes on 2027
The battle for Oregon’s sunshine isn’t over. The Governor has called on the Ethics Commission and stakeholders—including the media—to come up with a real solution for 2027.
The Hillsboro Herald will be at that table. We will support “clarity” for volunteers, but we will never support a “cloaking device” for the political class. We have seen what happens when “fact-finding” is done in the dark. It leads to backroom deals, eroded trust, and the slow death of local sovereignty.
Thank you to the readers of the Herald who called the Governor’s office and shared our investigation. You proved that local journalism is the ultimate guardrail. The sunshine is back, Hillsboro. Let’s make sure we keep it.
