Ethics Commissions & Administration October 16, 2013

The Need for Institutional Checks on Mishandling Conflicts

Six years ago, I wrote a blog post on apology (including full disclosure) in the medical context. Today's New York Times' "Invitation to a Dialogue" letter from a hospital executive takes this issue a step further to a consideration of the value of individual punishment vs. institutional change. The lesson he provides is one that is important to government ethics, as well.
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October 15, 2013

No Enforcement Against the Complicit in a California Case

Court decisions, especially when combined with criminal enforcement of ethics violations, can be very harmful to local government ethics. The court in a Monterey County case involving a serious §1090 conflict of interest matter that officials were not only aware of, but appear to have helped create, has used two recent California court decisions to limit prosecution to just one official.
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Conflicts of Interest October 10, 2013

California's Contract-Oriented Conflict of Interest Provision

Yesterday's blog post discussed the law giving California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) authority over §1090 of the state code, which deals with contract-related conflicts of interest and applies to both local and state officials. Knowing little about this section, which stands outside the state's ethics code (known as the Political Reform Act), I did a little research into it.
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October 9, 2013

Increased EC Authority and Access to Annual Disclosure in California

Some good news from California, which takes an odd, hybrid approach to local government ethics. It has a state ethics commission (the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)) that has limited authority over local officials in the areas of conflicts of interest and campaign finance. And the state has many local government ethics programs, which are all over the place in terms of quality and areas over which they have authority.
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Local Government Practice October 8, 2013

Officials' and Lawyers' Obligations Relating to Citizen Participation

Yesterday evening, I attended a meeting of my town's planning and zoning commission. The principal agenda item involved a request for an amendment to the town plan to allow the building of a private recycling center in the town. The commission's secretary read a letter from the requesting party's attorney, who is a member of another town board, withdrawing the request. The letter said that the principal reason for withdrawal of the request was opposition to the amendment by a small group of citizens who had "distorted" the facts.
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