While Secretary Reed regularly meets with legislators to discuss proposals and issues impacting the Office of Secretary of State, it isn’t every day that he actually testifies before a legislative committee. This week, he had one of those days.

The Secretary of State went before lawmakers not once, but twice, on a proposal to move the Combined Fund Drive, a popular workplace giving program, from the Department of Personnel (DOP) to our agency. Secretary Reed spoke before the House General Government Appropriations Committee on House Bill 2902, the House version of a proposal jointly requested by our agency and DOP. Hours later, he and DOP Director Eva Santos (pictured here) appeared before the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee to speak in favor of the Senate version, SB 6540.

It’s hard to say whether his testimony was better in the Senate than the House, but the Gov Ops panel approved SB 6540 just minutes after the public hearing on it.

Secretary Reed was one of the driving forces behind the Combined Fund Drive’s creation in 1984. Since then, it has grown steadily more popular. The CFD raises nearly $6 million per year from about 20,000 public and higher education employees and retirees for local, national and international communities.