Another Attempt to Amend the Speech or Debate Clause in R.I.

For any speech in debate in either house, no member shall be questioned
in any other place, except by the ethics commission as set forth 
in Article III, section 8 of this Constitution.<br>
<br>
No, this is not the text of a dream I had last night. This is the text
of <a href="http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText11/HouseText11/H5410.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">an
amendment to the Rhode Island constitution</a> proposed yesterday by
five state representatives in House Bill 2001-H 5410. The Rhode Island ethics commission has jurisdiction over local governments.<br>
<br>

The lead sponsor. Rep. Marcello, is quoted in <a href="http://www.projo.com/news/content/ethics_loophole_02-17-11_27MHP5U_v11…; target="”_blank”">a
Providence <i>Journal</i> article today</a> as saying in <a href="http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/News/pr1.asp?prid=6984&quot; target="”_blank”">a press release</a>,
“When voters approved the constitutional amendment establishing the
Ethics Commission more than two decades ago, the assumption was that
ethical behavior would be expected of all elected officials, including
members of the General Assembly, and that the Ethics Commission could
prosecute unethical behavior. ... it was never anyone’s intent to grant
the members of the legislature a free pass on ethical issues."<br>
<br>
According to the article, in December the senate president said that she
supports giving the ethics commission jurisdiction over the
legislature, but that she had not yet seen a proposal she could
support. Since <a href="http://www.rilin.state.ri.us//BillText10/SenateText10/S2391.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">a
2010 senate bill</a> contained the same language as the new bill, it
does not appear that the new bill will have any more success this year in the senate.<br>
<br>
What are the senate president's concerns? According to the article,
she's worried that a legislator's stray remarks might lead to ethics
enforcement (doesn't she understand an EC's ability to dismiss frivolous complaints?). And she thinks the EC appointment process might be a
violation of the separation of powers clause. Legislative leaders
supply the governor with a list of names, and then he appoints from
that list. The alternative of having the governor select EC
members is unacceptable to her.<br>
<br>
I agree. No one who is subject to an EC's jurisdiction should select
its members or its staff. The selection should be by community groups,
as is done, for example, in Atlanta, Louisiana, and Milwaukee. See <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/770&quot; target="”_blank”">my blog post</a> on this way
of independently selecting EC members.<br>
<br>
The senate president suggests that the matter be left to a 2012
constitutional convention. But considering the wide support for the
proposed solution by good government groups as well as most
high-ranking officials, at least last year, it seems that this simple
approach is the best. The selection process should also be fixed, in a
separate bill or in an amendment to this one.<br>
<br>
See
my <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/rhode-island-bill-give-ethics-commiss… post on the 2010 bill.</a><br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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