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A New Proposal for a Pennsylvania Public Integrity Commission with Jurisdiction Over Local Government Officials
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Robert Wechsler
Yesterday, four Pennsylvania state representatives, two from each of
the major parties, announced a proposal to create a public integrity
commission that would have greater powers than the current state ethics
commission, and would jurisdiction over officials at all levels of government.
According to the principal sponsors' press release, the new commission would have members nominated by a committee consisting of law school deans, district attorneys, and good government advocacy groups, from which the governor would make his selections. This is a good attempt to make the commission appear, and hopefully be, nonpolitical, not to mention nonpartisan.
But the legislators should make it very explicit that, despite the governor's selection of commission members, the commission has jurisdiction over state and local legislators, and that they be asked to waive their legislative immunity with respect to ethics investigations and enforcement.
The commission would have professional investigatory staff with the power to subpoena records and witnesses. The only problem is that it appears to be focused on law enforcement rather than ethics, with a strong emphasis on corruption. In other words, it sounds less like an ethics commission than the public integrity unit of a state attorney's office, except that the commission has no power to prosecute. It sounds like an odd hybrid.
The proposal seems timed for the upcoming elections rather than for passage. It appears that the bill has not yet officially been proposed.
According to an article in today's Philadelphia Daily News, the legislation has already received the support of Common Cause/Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters, and Democracy Rising.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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According to the principal sponsors' press release, the new commission would have members nominated by a committee consisting of law school deans, district attorneys, and good government advocacy groups, from which the governor would make his selections. This is a good attempt to make the commission appear, and hopefully be, nonpolitical, not to mention nonpartisan.
But the legislators should make it very explicit that, despite the governor's selection of commission members, the commission has jurisdiction over state and local legislators, and that they be asked to waive their legislative immunity with respect to ethics investigations and enforcement.
The commission would have professional investigatory staff with the power to subpoena records and witnesses. The only problem is that it appears to be focused on law enforcement rather than ethics, with a strong emphasis on corruption. In other words, it sounds less like an ethics commission than the public integrity unit of a state attorney's office, except that the commission has no power to prosecute. It sounds like an odd hybrid.
The proposal seems timed for the upcoming elections rather than for passage. It appears that the bill has not yet officially been proposed.
According to an article in today's Philadelphia Daily News, the legislation has already received the support of Common Cause/Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters, and Democracy Rising.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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