The last major overhaul of the state's ethics rules was in 2008
Baton Rouge -- An independent government watchdog group is calling for increased clarity in state ethics laws. The Public Affairs Research Council issued a report Tuesday that rounds up a variety of issues that have cropped up since the major overhaul of the state's ethics rules in 2008, including a number of recommendations that are in line with bills supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal and headed for debate in this legislative session.
Louisiana State CapitolPAR President Robert Travis Scott said his organization discussed its recommendations with the administration several times as the report was being written.
"This is an ongoing process," Scott said. "There's a lot of things we thought could be addressed."
Many of the recommendations in the report are aimed at clarifying the sometimes vague language in state ethics laws, and recommends that the state take up a long-term effort to condense the current regulations and provide a more consistent set of standards.
"What we want is to have a system where it's easy to be in compliance with the law," Scott said.
Some of the recommendations deal with proposals to allow the Board of Ethics, which files charges for ethics violations, to appeal rulings by the Ethics Adjudicatory Board, which rules on them. House Bill 942, which is supported by the governor, would give a limited right to appeal decisions by the board and the report recommends that the right be expanded.
Scott also called on the adoption of rules governing the use of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses. Such expenditures are prohibited but there is no set definition of "personal use." The Board of Ethics has begun studying the issue and is considering rules based on federal guidelines, which are also recommended as a good model in the report.
The report also calls for:
- Clearer guidelines for what kinds of records must be turned over to those accused of ethics violations.
- Allowing elected officials and appointed board members to recuse themselves from votes where there is a conflict of interest. The proposal calls for the official to disclose the nature of the conflict both verbally and in writing.
- Making live and archived recordings of Board of Ethics and the Ethics Adjudicatory Board available online.
- Allowing the Board of Ethics to continue using consent agreements and make them enforceable.
- Extending the terms of service for members of the Ethics Adjudicatory Board from three to five years and staggering those terms.
- Expanding the pool of candidates for the Board of Ethics by waiving the rule requiring a six-month wait between the time someone leaves a volunteer state board and the time they join the ethics board.
- Clarify vague laws that, for example, do not clearly state whether they are referring to the Board of Ethics or the Ethics Adjudicatory Board.
- Both boards working together to disseminate rules for the current system.
Jeff Adelson can be reached at jadelson@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5207.