Ethics Codes & Reform

What do clean water laws have to do with government ethics laws? According to an article in today's New York Times, there are three connections. One, the water in Scottsdale, AZ, where government ethics professionals just congregated for a conference, has high amounts of arsenic in it.

In August, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted a former state representative a temporary restraining order with respect to a state revolving door provision that prohibits state representatives from representing anyone other than a state political subdivision before the state legislature for one year after leaving office.

Ethics reform aimed at political opponents is a good way to undermine the whole idea of ethics reform. This is what is happening in San Jose.

The mayor of Baltimore is on trial for stealing $1,500 in gift cards, allegedly intended for poor Baltimore residents. A letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun proposes a better approach than a trial costing hundreds of thousands of dollars:

Update: November 13, 2009 (see below)

This week, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced a "toolbox" for local governments to create local ethics policies. Local government ethics is already governed by state statutes, but local governments can apparently supplement these rules with local laws and ethics boards.

Update: December 2, 2009 (see below)

I have often complained about how local government officials and attorneys approach government ethics matters in an overly technical manner. Well, ethics commission attorneys can do this, too.

There is little in government ethics that is more important than recognizing that, unlike other laws, an ethics code provides only minimum standards. That is, a public servant is required to fulfill the letter of an ethics code, but this is just the start. In this way, ethics laws are not like ordinary laws. Why and in what way? Here are two different responses.

Private Interest vs. Public Interest

According to an article in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois Gov. Quinn called the new ethics bill he signed a "landmark" change to the state's political culture. However, Patrick Collins, whom Quinn had named to chair the commission that recommended these ethics reforms and many more, called the new ethics provisions "tweaks to the system. ... What we always were advocating for was game-changing reform."

One of the principal reasons I have devoted myself to local government ethics is that the ethical habits of government officials and politicians are usually formed at the local level. Politicians who become accustomed to a poor local ethics environment bring their values to state and federal government.