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The State Of Ethics Reform In The States
by Michael Martinez
Thousands of state lawmakers trekked to Boston last month for the National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting. The weeklong event's slate of social activities included a party in famed Fenway Park and an evening performance by the Boston Pops on the city's waterfront. But there may not have been a better place for the lawmakers to be seen than at a panel discussion about a topic many of them now know well: ethics overhaul.
A standing-room only crowd packed the session, where representatives from Alaska, North Carolina and Oregon shared their experiences in passing ethics legislation during the past year. Before questioning the panel, one Louisiana lawmaker jokingly admitted that he had spent much of his time that week sightseeing in "Beantown." But he said he wanted to make sure to be seen at the forum about ethics.
The discussion occurred just after Congress cleared ethics and lobbying legislation that some observers called the most sweeping changes since the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. It was clear that state lawmakers are still focused on drawing more explicit rules for how they interact with lobbyists and others with influence on the legislative process.
The Ethical Pros And Cons Of Technology
The panel's participants all have been at ground zero of the state ethics movement.
North Carolina House Speaker Joe Hackney pushed a package through the Tar Heel State after a corruption scandal forced the resignation of his predecessor, Jim Black, who is now in prison. Alaska Rep. John Coghill backed a proposal to update the state's rules related to bribery, unlawful gifts and campaign contributions; Gov. Sarah Palin signed it into law in July.
And Oregon Rep. Dennis Richardson discussed the ethics and government accountability bills he helped push through the Legislature this year. Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed that measure, which requires more frequent filings of lobbying statements that are posted to the Internet.
Peggy Kerns, the director of NCSL's Center of Ethics in Government, said all of the states that have enacted notable changes in recent years, which include Colorado, Florida and Tennessee, have moved in the same general direction -- limiting the relationships lawmakers can have with lobbyists, banning certain types of gifts and requiring more open recordkeeping.
"Congress hasn't been the leader here," she said. "Congress is following the states."
Many states have embraced the Internet's potential to make government business more transparent. One such example is an Oklahoma law that mandates the creation of an online spending database so citizens can see how their tax dollars are being spent. That proposal was modeled after a federal bill enacted last year.
A few states also have moved to defend themselves against ways new technologies might allow lobbyists to communicate with lawmakers while they are doing business. The Maine House of Representatives barred members from using cellular telephones on the chamber floor. The Oregon Senate, meanwhile, decided to prohibit the use of any electronic devices that might "detract from the decorum" of the chamber.
Maine House Speaker Glenn Cummings told The Portland Press-Herald earlier this year that the issue is a matter of "legislative autonomy and independence." He said lobbyists were frequently messaging statements and speeches to his colleagues during sessions.
A Culture Of Corruption In Illinois?
Few states have struggled with ethical issues as much as Illinois lately. Former Gov. George Ryan was convicted of fraud and corruption in federal court last year -- charges that he is still appealing. Prosecutors accused Ryan of taking gifts in exchange for government contracts, one of which involved IBM.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Ryan's successor, began his tenure by ushering an ethics package through the Legislature. But a hiring scandal in his administration later made him the target of a federal investigation.
Ethics reform became a hot issue in Illinois again this summer when The Chicago Sun-Times linked state Senate President Emil Jones to a lucrative contract awarded to a software firm owned by his stepson. Several of Jones' colleagues tried to force him to move ethics proposals through the Senate Rules Committee after the story broke.
Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno said she has been disappointed that the bills, which she claims have generated a good deal of public support, never moved.
"We need to keep the pressure on," she said. "But the way things work around here, the Senate president has sole control over what moves and what doesn't."
Legislating By Scandal
Jay Stewart, executive director of the Chicago-based Better Government Association, said lawmakers in his home state have fallen into a pattern of grudgingly enacting narrow ethics changes after cyclical scandals. He said scandals that may occur "once in a generation" in other states happen once every few years in Illinois.
"There's not any impulse for change in Illinois except in the wake of catastrophe," he said. "And then when the laws are implemented and put to use, they all still get offended the first time it's implied that any of them are corrupt."
Radogno said the solution to her chamber's problems is going to require something else -- a change in leadership. "There is nothing standing procedurally between those bills other than [Jones]," she said.
Kerns insisted that the public has an important role to play in the process and said lawmakers will not force reforms upon themselves if they are not pushed by their constituents to do so.
"The bottom line is these jobs are held for the public and the public trust," she said. "The public is armed best to change things."
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