JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The capitol was still reeling from the abrupt resignation of one House Speaker and the election of his replacement when it was announced that the chamber would form a task force to re-write policies that related to interns and sexual harassment.
House Speaker Todd Richardson seized his post when former Speaker John Diehl resigned suddenly after news broke that he’d exchanged sexually charged text messages with a college intern at the capitol. Richardson immediately appointed Rep. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, to chair a special interim task force to write new, stricter policies regarding workplace relationships, sexual harassment, and the treatment of college interns.
Now, at least one lawmaker is calling on that task force to be elevated to a full interim committee and hold public hearings as it goes about rewriting workplace policy. Rep. John Rizzo, a Kansas City and House minority whip, penned a letter to Richardson seeking such a change.
“While I commend your leadership in establishing a task force to develop a new intern policy for the House of Representatives and appreciate the efforts put forth by the task force members, I believe additional actions are warranted to ensure this matter is handled with full transparency and yields the best possible result,” Rizzo wrote. “Therefore, I respectfully request that you elevate the task force to the statute of an interim committee to expand its duties to include developing policies for combating the broader problem of sexual harassment in the Missouri Capitol.”
Rizzo’s letter comes one day after Engler sent his first draft of a framework for a new policy to his fellow Republicans. Engler solicited feedback from his fellow members, some of which included suggestions for a new dress code policy. Backlash against the suggestion was relatively swift, and Richardson has publicly declared no interest in any dress code policy changes.
Rizzo’s letter goes on to call for public hearings with testimony from the victims of past sexual harassment and past interns as well, writing that their “positive and negative” experiences could positively inform the decisions made by the House.
“And while the focus thus far has been appropriately placed on how to better protect young college interns, we must do substantially more to ensure that everyone who works or regularly spends time in the Capitol enjoys an environment that is free of sexual harassment,” Rizzo writes.
The House task force’s final product, which Engler said he’d ideally like to have ready by the September 16 veto session, will be closely examined by many in the state in the wake of back-to-back scandals that pushed lawmakers out of office over their relationship with an intern. A few months following Diehl’s resignation, Democrat Kansas City state senator Paul LeVota left office amidst allegations that he’d made sexual advances toward one of his interns and punished her when she did not reciprocate. When a second former intern of LeVota’s came forward to claim she was the victim of harassment as well — and following the release of a police report detailing the possible sexual assault of a female Jefferson City lobbyist — cries have grown louder for lawmakers in the state capitol to take significant action with respect to internal policies on workplace relationships and sexual harassment.
Richardson could not be immediately reached for comment.
Read Rizzo’s full letter here.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
