Ethics Commissions/Administration

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.<br>
<br>

According to <a href="http://www.projo.com/ri/johnston/content/maselli_indictment_06-19-10_1S…; target="”_blank”">an
article
in the Providence <i>Journal</i></a>, <span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody">a Rhode Island state senator has been indicted on
federal charges that he falsified documents to get mortgages and an

Ethics commission leaders are falling like flies in Hawaii. <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/ec-members-aiding-or-supporting-polit…; target="”_blank”">I
recently wrote</a> about Honolulu's EC chair resigning in order to be
involved in a mayoral candidate's campaign (he had already been involved in
other campaigns). And last Wednesday, the state EC fired its

Government ethics e-newsletters are a good source of ideas, and something worth considering for your local government's ethics commission or ethics officer. <a href="http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/boards/board_of_et…; target="”_blank">Atlanta's
new
spring 2010 newsletter</a>, <i>Ethics Matters</i>, is a good example of what such an e-newsletter can do.<br>
<br>

<br>
City Ethics' president and Jacksonville ethics officer, Carla Miller,
is taking best practices to a new level in Florida. She is organizing a statewide local government ethics swap meeting, where local
government ethics officials will share information and talk about
swapping software and programs.<br>
<br>

Yesterday, my attention was drawn to a new organization called
Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc., which operates as the
website <a href="http://www.reportpubliccorruption.org&quot; target="”_blank”">www.reportpubliccorruption.org</a&gt;.
On February 11, its executive director, Leslie W. Merritt, Jr., a

<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

<br>
<b>Update:</b> March 1, 2010 (see below)<br>
<br>
The political activity of ethics commission members, staff, and ethics
officers is an important topic. The issue has arisen this week with
respect to Connecticut's <a href="http://www.ct.gov/ethics/site/default.asp&quot; target="”_blank”">Office of State Ethics</a>,

When people support ethics programs that feature toothless enforcement,
reel off the names of the countries that support toothless enforcement
of the <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/index.html">UN
Convention against Corruption</a> (according to <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=…

<br>
<b>Update:</b> November 16, 2009 (see below)<br>
<br>
On Sunday, the Lexington <i>Herald-Leader</i> took an <a href="http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/981948-p2.html">unflattering
look</a> at Kentucky's legislative ethics commission. As in New York
State, a
central problem appears to be the commission's lack of independence.<br>
<br>