Good Government Groups Want Ethics Bill on November Ballot
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Several good government groups are calling on state lawmakers not to sideline ethics legislation, including the possibility of placing an amendment on the November ballot to restore oversight of the General Assembly to the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, during the current session.
The groups, which include Common Cause RI, the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island (LWV), RI Statewide Coalition (RISC), Ocean State Tea Party in Action (OSTPA), and Operation Clean Government (OCG), say they are concerned no committee hearing has been set for the legislation.
If the legislature has time to put casino gambling on the ballot twice, they still have time to put a constitutional amendment clarifying the General Assembly is subject to the Code of Ethics, and the legislature should not stand in the way of letting the voters decide that question,” Common Cause executive director John Marion said.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRISC Executive Director Harriet Lloyd said the recent arrest of Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio is a clear reminder that allowing the Legislature to regulate itself in situations that raise questions about ethical behavior by lawmakers does not work effectively.
“ The recent Barrington incident saw the Senate President called upon to react to the arrest of her own Senate Majority Leader and then dole out senate discipline decisions to another prominent senator for troubling statements and behavior that many viewed as an outright attempt to misuse his legislative authority,” Lloyd said. “It seems clear Senator Frank Ciccone’s behavior that night raises ethical questions and these incidents left the Senate President in a very awkward and we believe compromised position to respond in a way that the circumstances demanded.”
Lisa Blais of OSTPA said that Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed chose to remove Ciccone from certain chairmanships but left his powerful and influential post as Vice Chairman of the Labor Committee intact.
“It raises concern about the ability of legislative leadership to appropriately regulate and discipline members over ethical situations and it seems time for the average RI citizen to be able to weigh in on whether oversight of the people’s own house should now be returned to the Ethics Commission,” Blais said.
