Safra Working Papers
Clearing the Air?: The Independence of Ethics Commissions
Robert Wechsler
When an ethics commission is appointed by the city's principal officials, can it possibly clear the air with respect to allegations against them? Baltimore's Board of Ethics has five members, four of them appointed by the mayor, three of those confirmed by the Council, and the fifth member appointed by the city solicitor, who is in turn a mayoral appointee.
Co-Opting Subordinates Through Ordering Unethical Conduct
Robert Wechsler
Last week, the Kansas City, MO city council ordered an investigation
into possibly unethical conduct by the city's mayor, according to an article in
the Kansas City Star.
The principal conduct is the use of the mayor's former communications
director to work on a political campaign (not the mayor's re-election
campaign).
COGEL Considers Certification Programs for Government Ethics Practitioners
Robert Wechsler
The Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), an association of
American and Canadian practitioners in the areas of conflicts of
interest, campaign finance, transparency, elections, and lobbying,
is looking into the possibility of offering certification programs
in these areas. I assume the courses would be both about the topics
and about administering programs in these areas.
COGEL Talk on Legislative Immunity: Same Goals As Government Ethics, and Not Absolute
Robert Wechsler
Below is the text of a talk I gave at the Council on Governmental
Ethics Laws conference this week. Due to time limitations, I was not
able to share this entire text, so even those who heard the talk may
want to read this and see what they missed. For those who have been following my posts on legislative immunity, this talk not only brings together a lot of information, but also adds a section on how much of a misnomer "absolute" legislative immunity is.
Collecting Ethics Commission Fines
Robert Wechsler
What's an ethics commission to do? Even ethics commissions with teeth,
that is, with the ability to fine officials, rarely have a way of
actually collecting the fines. And if they do have a way of collecting
fines, it can make things look unfair.
Colleges, Knowledge, Gifts to Officials' Relatives, and Advice Regarding Past Conduct
Robert Wechsler
A
recent Miami Herald article describes a case that embodies a number of important government ethics issues, including the conflict issues
that involve local schools of higher education, gifts to officials' relatives and the officials' knowledge of them, an ethics program's jurisdiction over these relatives, and whether government attorneys should provide ethics advice about past conduct.
Commercial Bail Bond System: Local Corruption and Ends vs. Rules
Robert Wechsler
The most important division in ethics is between ends-based approaches (consequentialist or teleological, best known as "the ends justify the means") and rules-based approaches (deontological).
The most important problem for individuals in government is that we are taught rules-based approaches while we’re growing up (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”), but in government most talk is in terms of ends (Will it raise taxes?).
Today’s New York Times has a long feature about America’s comm
Common Errors Involving Ethics Commission Jurisdiction
Robert Wechsler
I recently wrote about the problem of having a toothless ethics commission in a Connecticut city.
According to an article
in yesterday's Danbury News-Times,
it's good that another Connecticut municipality's ethics commission
is toothless.
Competitive Bidding vs. Development Opportunity
Robert Wechsler
Should an option in a light-rail train car manufacturing contract be exercised, rather than going to a competitive bid, because the company says it will move its plant, and 5,000 jobs, into the county?
This dilemma is being faced by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), and the recession and the stimulus package are both involved. So is an accusation of conflict of interest.
Complaints and Investigations
Robert Wechsler
This is the place to raise and discuss issues involving the filing of a complaint regarding an alleged violation of the Code, and the ensuing investigation.
Possible issues for discussion include who may file a complaint; whether complaints must be sworn; whether an Ethics Commission may file its own complaints; whether it may file a complaint based on others' allegations, anonymous, or not; whether an Ethics Commission may make a settlement with the respondent; reimbursement of respondents' attorney fees; and how to handle complaints based on false statements.
Compliance and Conflicts in Tallahassee: The Organization Interest vs. The Public Interest
Robert Wechsler
Tallahassee takes a compliance approach to ethics. Its ethics code is
aspirational, based on core values. Its ethics training employs a
Character First approach. Conflicts of interest are only a small
portion of a program that ranges from personnel and transparency issues
to harassment, discrimination, and fraud.
Complicity and Knowledge
Robert Wechsler
Last month, I wrote
about the responsibility of lawyers and other professionals for doing
something about the deeply unethical conduct of two judges in
Pennsylvania who unjustly, and to their own financial benefit,
incarcerated hundreds of juveniles.
Complicity Provisions: Dealing Responsibly with Conflicts
Robert Wechsler
How do you deal with a department head who helps creates a conflict of
interest problem that does not apply to him personally? Few ethics
codes contain complicity provisions that deal with this problem. The City
Ethics Model Code complicity provision begins: "No
one may, directly or indirectly, induce, encourage, or aid anyone to
violate any provision of this code...."
Complicity with or Knowledge of Others' Violations
Robert Wechsler
Complicity with and knowledge of violations are two minefields it is worth crossing. They involve not only dotting the i's, but they also go right to a central element of responsibility: are you responsible for what others do, especially when you are involved or you let it happen. So much of what happens in any organization involves knowingly letting others -- especially subordinates -- do the dirty work.
Note that this provision includes outsiders, such as people doing business with the city.
Concern About Corruption in Illinois
Robert Wechsler
Politics may be local for politicians, but is it for citizens? The 2009 Joyce Foundation
Illinois Survey shows that in January the people of Illinois were
more concerned about corruption in government than about the economy.
Last January only 49% of those polled were extremely concerned about
corruption; now 61% are (and 50% are extremely concerned about the
economy, as opposed to 45% the year before).
What changed?
What changed?
Confidential Information
Robert Wechsler
This is the place to discuss how best to deal with the problem of an official using confidential information for his or her own gain, or disclosing confidential information for others' gain. A principal issue is how to define "confidential information."
100(8).
Confidential Information Provisions, Ethics, and Transparency
Robert Wechsler
In Milwaukee County, according to an
article in Sunday's Journal-Sentinel, a county supervisor is
seeking to add to the county
ethics code a confidential information provision that would not
limit the prohibition to what is common in ethics codes: information divulged for someone's benefit.
Confidentiality After an Official's Resignation
Robert Wechsler
It is generally agreed that it is best to preserve an ethics
commission's jurisdiction over officials and employees after they quit
or leave office. There are two reasons for this. One, to prevent them
from escaping enforcement by quitting or leaving office. This is
especially important because it can take a long time for information to
come out that an ethics violation might have occurred, and for an
ethics proceeding to be completed. The second reason is to allow for
post-employment restrictions.
Confidentiality vs. Transparency in Colorado -- A Court Decision
Robert Wechsler
Government ethics policies sometimes clash. The most common clash
involving ethics commissions is with transparency laws.
Conflict of Interest
Robert Wechsler
This is the place to discuss what a conflict of interest is, and how close or what type of a relationship an official or employee must have with an individual or entity that has an interest, for that interest to be seen as conflicting with that official or employee's obligations to the public interest.
This is also the place to discuss certain conflict provisions missing from this code (such as outside employment), which are discussed in the comments to this subsection.