Contractors and Vendors

Influence. It's a big word in a lot of government ethics laws, and a
word that those who write such laws should think at least twice about.<br>
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As everyone knows, New York Governor David Paterson has been accused by
the NY Commission on Public Integrity (CPI) of having violated the
state's gift ban by asking for and receiving five tickets to the first
game of last year's World Series, at Yankee Stadium. But the reports
are, of course, ignoring the language of the law. Here it is:<br>
<ul>

I'm back from the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL)
conference, and I will be sharing some valuable information from the
talks and panels I attended.<br>
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In a panel on gifts provisions in ethics codes, the panel consisted not
only of the usual government ethics professionals, but also a lawyer
who advises and defends lobbyists and those who do business with
governments. One difference in their perspectives stood out.<br>
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According to <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-ignores-ethics-rule-171424.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an
article</a> in this week's Atlanta <i>Journal-Constitution</i>, a rule
prohibiting Georgia state employees from accepting gifts over $25 is
not being enforced. At all.<br>
<br>
How does the paper know these gifts are being made? Because lobbyists

<a href="http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/10/hisd-ethics-loophole-leaves-meals-…
article</a> on the Texas Watchdog website focuses on a serious loophole
in the Texas gift disclosure policy, which applies to local government

Preferential treatment is one of the most difficult ethics provisions
to deal with, because it seems on its face so open-ended. Every time a
decision is made, someone is preferred over someone else, whether it's
a hiring decision, a contract award, or a zoning change. But if these
decisions are made fairly and through the appropriate legal process,
there is no preferential treatment.<br>
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