Will This Be the Year an Ethics Amendment Passes the RI General Assembly?
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
State Senator James Sheehan (D-North Kingstown), who has been pushing for ethics reform, said this week there is "new hope" for a constitutional ethics amendment that would restore the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission over the core legislative acts of the members of the General Assembly.
H. Philip West, Jr, who served eighteen years as executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island and as author of SECRETS & SCANDALS: Reforming Rhode Island, 1986-2006, has been as staunch advocate for such an amendment.
"This is year seven since the Irons decision immunized 113 members of the General Assembly against prosecution for conflicts-of-interest. All other public officials remain accountable and subject to fines up to $25,000 for each specific violation. Only a constitutional amendment can restore the Ethics Commission’s authority, and it’s good that Speaker Mattiello and Senate President Paiva Weed may be ready to let the voters decide," said West.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Compromise is possible, but the details matter," continued West. "Legislation proposed by the late Sen. Michael Lenihan in 2010 and filed every year since then would restore the Ethics Commission’s authority to prosecute legislative conflicts-of-interest. Any amendment would have to accomplish that."
Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello acknowledged that the House would take up some ethics legislation shortly -- and that striking a "balance" between the Assembly and the Ethics Commission is on the table.
“I expect that an ethics bill will be introduced in the House within the next few weeks that will look at the issue of the speech-in-debate clause in the state Constitution. It was designed to encourage General Assembly members to participate in debates," said Mattiello. "I also recognize the need to have conflict-of-interest oversight by the Ethics Commission. There may have to be a rebalancing of the roles between the General Assembly and the Ethics Commission.”
Sheehan on the Record
"An Ethics Amendment, one originating in the House and one in the Senate, likely will pass their respective chambers this year," said Sheehan. "This alone would represent the most movement on this issue over the past six years of trying."
"However, obstacles remain," added Sheehan. "Will either chamber be tempted to play the game of "blame game" during this volatile election season? To win this game, one chamber would approve a bill that will be heralded by good government groups, but does not provide any legitimate room for essential free, public speech for legislators, causing the other chamber to reject it."
"Legislative free speech is a venerated right dating back to the English Bill of Rights of 1689 that allows legislators to freely discuss bills and policies (later has been interpreted to include all core legislative duties) without fear of repercussions," said Sheehan. "Both the Senate and House leaders highly regard this historic right. Note: my bill would limit the scope of this privilege to the most essential speech right, namely public discussion on the floors of each chamber and in committees during session."
"Were this kind of pure, uncompromising bill surface in either the House or Senate, I would consider it an Ethics Trojan Horse. It's design would be to give cover for legislators in the next election, but likely lead to gridlock, killing ethics reform again this year," said Sheehan. "I believe that both the Speaker and President need to show a willingness to compromise on this issue in order for an Ethics Amendment to pass the General Assembly this year.
West on History
"The 2004 Separation of Powers Amendment gave Rhode Island governors power to appoint all members of any board or commission that executes state law. I know legislative leaders have been concerned that a future court ruling could shut them out of their current role in nominating five of nine members of the Ethics Commission. One compromise would be to put the composition into the Constitution. Legislative leaders would then be certain no governor could turn the commission against them," said West.
"A far more difficult compromise might involve some limit on the Ethics Commission’s rule-making authority. The 1986 Ethics in Government Amendment to the Rhode Island Constitution established the Ethics Commission with extraordinary authority “to adopt a code of ethics” for all public officials in the state. In 1992, the state Supreme Court unanimously upheld that authority. In 1993, the justices unanimously affirmed the commission’s “revolving door” prohibition and the legislature’s more expansive “revolving door” law," said West. "A compromise might require a six of nine commissioners to approve any new rule for public officials."
West offered thoughts on what another compromise could be.
"A third possible compromise might allow some “jury trial” process for public officials found to have violated the law. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee supported such language at a recent hearing, but citizen advocacy groups opposed it. Currently, eleven states allow an appeal to a jury, while 24, including Rhode Island, do not," said West. "In a year when presidential candidates shout that the system is rigged against ordinary people, Speaker Mattiello and Senate President Paiva Weed know how important it will be to restore ethics accountability for the General Assembly."
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