Rhode Island Bill to Give Ethics Commission Back Its Jurisdiction Over Legislators
<b>Update:</b> June 7, 2010 (see below)<br>
<br>
There is some very good news out of Rhode Island, even if it is over a
month old. The house majority leader, <a href="http://www.projo.com/news/content/House_Speaker_elected__02-12-10_5HHE4…; target="”_blank”">now
the speaker of the house</a>, Gordon Fox, has introduced <a href="http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText10/HouseText10/H7357.pdf" target="”_blank”">a
bill seeking a referendum</a> in November on a constitutional amendment
that would return to the state ethics commission its jurisdiction over
legislators, which had been taken away by a state supreme court
decision last year (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/792" target="”_blank”">blog
post on the decision</a>). The <a href="http://www.ri.gov/press/view.php?id=10690" target="”_blank”">governor has
supported the bill</a>, and Senator Lenihan and others have filed <a href="http://www.rilin.state.ri.us//BillText10/SenateText10/S2391.pdf" target="”_blank”">the
same bill</a> in the senate.<br>
<br>
The constitution, as amended, would contain the following sentence,
which will warm the heart of anyone opposed to the application of
legislative immunity, pursuant to the speech or debate clause, in the
government ethics context.<br>
<ul>
For any speech in debate in either house, no member shall be questioned
in any other place, except by the ethics commission<br>
</ul>
Such a clause should appear in every state constitution and in every
city and county charter, because legislative immunity and government
ethics have the exact same goal: preventing our representatives
from acting in anything but the public interest.<br>
<br>
According to a <a href="http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/news/pr1.asp?prid=6127" target="”_blank”">state house
press release</a>, both of the state's major good government groups,
Common Cause RI and Operation Clean Government, were involved in
drafting the bill.<br>
<br>
The house speaker and sponsor of the bill has had run-ins with the
ethics commission and the good government groups, including a $10,000
fine that he paid in 2004, following a complaint by Operation Clean
Government. The fine was for supporting legislation that gave a company
a state lottery contract and tax incentives to move its headquarters to
Providence, soon after the company hired the then majority leader's law firm.<br>
<br>
But just last year, <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.com/node/43420" target="”_blank”">the majority leader
was seen attending</a> a Red Sox game with three lobbyists for the same
company. Although he paid the ticket price, it was a ticket that would
have cost far more on the market, and it's hard to believe that the
three lobbyists really preferred the company of the Rhode Island
majority leader over their other friends, or their family members.<br>
<br>
Two other complaints against Fox were filed with the ethics commission,
but were dismissed.<br>
<br>
It's rare for a legislator who has been the subject of ethics
complaints to brush them off and recognize the importance of the
independent administration of government ethics laws. Fox's action, in a period
of economic crisis in his state and at the time he became the house
speaker, is highly commendable.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www2.turnto10.com/jar/news/local/local_govtpolitics/article/ri_l…; target="”_blank”">an
Associated Press report</a>, the bill is on tomorrow's agenda for the
house judiciary committee. Let's hope the bill sails through and
becomes an example for states and localities across the nation.<br>
<br>
<b>Update:</b> June 7, 2010<br>
This bill has been sitting in committee for a few months now, and doesn't seem any closer to being passed. <a href="http://www.ri.gov/press/view/11474" target="”_blank”">The secretary of state</a> and <a href="http://www.projo.com/generalassembly/archambault_ethics_05-18-10_5BIHIT…; target="”_blank”">an attorney general candidate</a> have made news supporting the bill and calling for its passage. But it will likely take more than that to force the Rhode Island Legislature's hand.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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