Ethics Codes

In August, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
granted a former state representative a <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/18102368/16-PI-Order&quot; target="”_blank”">temporary
restraining order</a> with respect to a state revolving door provision
that prohibits state representatives from representing anyone other
than a state political subdivision before the state legislature for one
year after leaving office.<br>

This week, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-34739-225122--,00.html&quot; target="”_blank”">announced</a>
a "toolbox" for local governments to create local ethics policies.
Local government ethics is already governed by state statutes, but
local governments can apparently supplement these rules with local laws and ethics

It's official. According to <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_13445835&quot; target="”_blank”"><b>an article</b></a> in
yesterday's Salt Lake City <i>Tribune</i>, a comprehensive <a href="http://www.utahnsforethicalgovernment.org/finalversion.petition.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”"><b>ethics

There is little in government ethics that is more important than
recognizing that, unlike other laws, an ethics code provides only
minimum standards. That is, a public servant is required to fulfill the
letter of an ethics code, but this is just the start. In this way,
ethics laws are not like ordinary laws. Why and in what way? Here are two different
responses.<br>
<br>

<span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody"><big> I don’t
care
what state you are talking about, you are always going to have one or
two people who are going to do the wrong thing. That’s human life. But
the bottom line is: I can tell you that my members who are in the House
of Representatives are here for the right reason, and I am just a
little cautious to make a regulation for one person.</big><br>
<br>
Reaction of Rhode Island House Speaker William J. Murphy to Gov.

Here's a short opinion piece by Walter Dellinger, head of the Office of
Legal Counsel under Pres. Clinton. It's part of a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR20090…; target="”_blank”">series
of such pieces</a> that will appear in tomorrow's Washington <span>Post. </span>The opinions concern what

In many states without state enforcement of local government ethics,
the compromise position pushed particularly by local government
officials is to have the state mandate local ethics codes, but let
local governments decide what's right for them. The motto of this
position is, "One size does not fit all."<br>
<br>
Size does matter, but not nearly as much as is often asserted. A strong
ethics code is right for every size town or county. Larger cities and

A favorite ploy in local government ethics is for a council to vote for
an ethics code that includes an ethics commission, and then either not
actually appoint members to the commission or, when they resign, not
fill their seats, so that there is, effectively, no enforcement
mechanism.<br>
<br>
But a legislative body cannot do this when it self-enforces. It has to be more creative. The