City Ethics
Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

A Miscellany

Robert Wechsler
City Related
On the legislative immunity front, according to an article in the Providence Journal, a date has been set for the Rhode Island Supreme Court to hear the appeal by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission of the decision upholding the old constitutional legislative immunity clause against a more recent constitutional amendment creating the ethics commission and giving it jurisdiction over the state legislature. The date is May 23. Common Cause of RI will be filing an amicus brief.

Also on the legislative immunity front, according to an Associated Press article, a bill has unanimously passed the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee giving the state legislative bodies full jurisdiction over their members' conduct involving "core legislative functions." This bill follows the decision of a Nevada district court taking jurisdiction over legislators away from the state ethics commission. The ethics commission has appealed this ruling.

Here's a good quotation from Alabama Governor Bob Riley in support of state ethics reform, from an Associated Press article: 

Some legislators have said that they need to concentrate on the state's economic condition this session, rather than dealing with ethics legislation. Riley said he does not understand that argument. "The greatest thing we can do to help the economy of this state is to have a better ethical reputation," Riley said.

The minority leader (Taylor) of the New Mexico House got it part right and part wrong, while the majority leader (Sanchez) got it all wrong, according to quotations in the New Mexico Business Weekly:

“It’s difficult through legislation to control the actions of individuals, especially those who don’t know the difference between right and wrong,” said Taylor, who has introduced a bill that would prohibit any political contributions by individuals or companies doing business with the state. However, he also acknowledged New Mexico doesn’t have a very good reputation right now in ethics.

The House has already passed a slate of ethics bills, including one that would create an ethics commission. However, Sanchez said a commission could run into the same problems as the governor’s organized crime commission, which he called a witch hunt.

According to an article on the WVLT-TV website, the Knox County (TN) school board ethics committee publicly censured a member who held a gun to his wife's head during an altercation and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. There's no doubt that this was highly unethical in the usual sense of the term, but this sort of decision muddies the water of government ethics, because the school board member's act had nothing to do with a conflict of interest, or government service at all.


Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

---

Tags