The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration in late March voted unanimously to make the proposed changes, which took effect immediately. Those changes include requiring senators and Senate staff to take anti-harassment training at least every two years. Currently, the training is required once every five years.
The changes also set up a system allowing staff, interns and others who work at the Capitol (and not just Senators) to report discrimination and harassment. Two legislators faced accusations of sexual harassment in 2017 and later resigned.
The Director of Human Resources will be charged with releasing an annual report laying out the number of complaints, investigation outcomes, and information on external groups that were contracted to look into allegations.