Palm Beach County Ethics Program Has Passed
After many months of deliberation (and <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/palm-beach-county-business-coalition-…
blog post</a>), yesterday the Palm Beach Board of County Commissioners
passed three ordinances, establishing a new <a href="http://www.pbcgov.com/pubInf/Agenda/20091215/4d.pdf" target="”_blank”">ethics and
lobbying code</a>, <a href="http://www.pbcgov.com/pubInf/Agenda/20091215/4c.pdf" target="”_blank”">ethics
commission</a>, and <a href="http://www.pbcgov.com/pubInf/Agenda/20091215/4b.pdf" target="”_blank”">inspector
general</a>.<br>
<br>
The most interesting thing about this response to numerous political
scandals in the county is that, as in Miami-Dade County, it is intended
to cover cities and towns within the county that want to participate in
the ethics program. However, the extended jurisdiction of the
inspector general must be approved by voters in November 2010,
according to<a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-commission-ethics-palm-2…; target="”_blank”">
a <i>Sun-Sentinel</i> article</a> yesterday.<br>
<br>
The ethics code is good, although its range of provisions is narrow.
The gift provision prohibits only gifts over $100 (not aggregated) from
lobbyists and their employers, requiring only disclosure for gifts from
others (gifts over $100, again not aggregated). Its basic conflict of
interest provision is based on that of the <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/full-text-model-ethics-code" target="”_blank”">City Ethics Model Code</a>.<br>
<br>
The ethics commission is truly independent (see an earlier <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/770" target="”_blank”">blog post</a> for the
selection process) and well thought out, with one exception: it
cannot initiate its own investigations or file its own complaints. This
is a serious oversight. However, the inspector general can act on its
own initiative, and has a hotline to aid in getting tips from people
who are either afraid of retaliation or do not want to put together a
formal complaint. Since the IG is required to notify the EC of any
possible violation of the ethics code, and aid in the EC's
investigation, the EC does appear to be able to act, indirectly and
with the IG's cooperation, on anonymous tips. If they cooperate
well, this setup could work.<br>
<br>
Another possible problem is the two-year statute of limitations from
the time of the violation. Since much unethical conduct involves
failure to disclose, this is too short a time. One odd detail in the
ethics commission ordinance is that, for a
complaint to be legally sufficient, it must "be based substantially on
the personal knowledge of the complainant." Newspaper reports and
documents do not appear to be sufficient.<br>
<br>
The EC will have at least two lawyers, one to act as its counsel,
another to act as Advocate, prosecuting cases before it.<br>
<br>
Ethics training will be mandatory. It can be given either by the EC or
the IG.<br>
<br>
The IG is selected by a committee that consists primarily of the ethics
commission. Like the EC, the IG can investigate possible wrongdoing, but it can
only make recommendations to the county commissioners, if there is no
clear violation of a law. Unlike the commission, much of the IG's
budget will come from a charge (.25%) on county contracts (as well as on the
contracts of participating cities and towns). However, a large
percentage of contracts are excluded from this charge. The IG can also
recover investigation costs from entities involved in willful
misconduct, although it's not clear how.<br>
<br>
This is an excellent step forward for Palm Beach County.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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