City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

Ethics Commissions & Administration January 31, 2014

A Government Attorney Ethics Advice Case Study from Florida

Here is a concrete example of the problem of allowing local government attorneys to provide ethics advice that protects local officials, a problem that Florida state senator Jeff Clemens and the Florida League of Cities want to harden into state law in SB 606 (see my recent blog post for a discussion of the problem).

Conflicts of Interest January 29, 2014

Interesting City Lobbyist/County Election Board Member Conflict

When a lawyer decides to represent a private client, she does not give up her right to vote or petition governments on her own behalf. But what about when a lawyer decides to represent a public client, especially as a lobbyist? Does such a lawyer give up her right to vote on issues relating to the city government (assuming she sits on another government's board) or petition a government on behalf of her own beliefs?

January 29, 2014

Good News from Florida Legislative Leaders

After ripping apart one Florida ethics "reform" bill, it's nice to be able to say that Florida's legislative leaders are planning to do some good things this year. According to an Integrity Florida press release today, the senate and house leaders have committed themselves to do the following:

Ethics Codes & Reform January 29, 2014

FL League of Cities' Ethics Proposals IV - Local Govt. Assocs. Should Not Lobby re Conflicts of Interest

This is the last of four blog posts on Florida Senate Bill 606 (attached; see below), one of the worst ethics reform bills I have ever read.

January 28, 2014

Florida League of Cities' Ethics Reform Proposals III - Placing Shackles on Countywide Ethics Programs

This is the third of four blog posts on Florida Senate Bill 606 (attached; see below), one of the worst ethics reform bills I have ever read.

Ethics Codes & Reform January 27, 2014

Florida League of Cities' Ethics Reform Proposals II - Gifts, Ethics Advice, and Training

This is the second of four blog posts on Florida Senate Bill 606 (attached; see below), one of the worst ethics reform bills I have ever read (click here to read the first post, which focused on a provision that provides an additional penalty on complainants in order to reduce the number of ethics complaints).

Gift Reporting vs. Gift Banning

Enforcement & Complaints January 27, 2014

Florida League of Cities' Ethics Reform Proposals I - Preventing the Filing of Complaints

Florida Senate Bill 606 (attached; see below) is one of the worst ethics reform bills I have ever read. But it is far worse than the words it consists of. What makes it worse is that, with respect to laws that affect local officials, it is largely the work of the Florida League of Cities (this was confirmed to me by representatives of both the League and state senator Jeff Clemens, the bill's sponsor).

January 24, 2014

Happy Birthday, Citizens United!

Posted on January 24th, 2014 on the Harvard Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics Blog:

Enforcement & Complaints January 24, 2014

Rooting for the Refuseniks

A passing statement in yesterday's New York Times article on the continuously unfolding story of NJ governor Chris Christie's bullying led me to wonder why it is that indictments based on sting operations focus only on the government officials who give in to the sting's temptations. Not only is this not fair to the many officials who withstand the temptations, but it also gives a false picture to the public of the officials they elect.

Conflicts of Interest January 23, 2014

A Miscellany

Incompatible Political Offices
According to an article this week on the TribLive website, an ethics complaint was filed against an Allegheny County, PA council member for working as a constituent services representative for a state senator whose district partially overlaps the council member's. The county ethics code prohibits council members from being employed on the personal staff of any local, state or federal elected official.

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