County Related

Another day, another grand jury report recommending government
ethics reform. This report (attached; see below) comes from Orange
County, NY, a county northwest of New York City,
whose biggest town is Newburgh and whose most famous towns include
the very different Tuxedo and Kiryas Joel.<br>
<br>
The report criminally exonerates the county legislator who is its
subject, because he did a couple things right:  he sought ethics
advice from the ethics board, and he disclosed his employment with a

According to <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-broward-ethics-code-2014042…; target="”_blank”">an
article this week in the <i>Sun-Sentinel</a>,</i>
the Broward County, FL commission is discussing changes to the countywide ethics program, focusing on gifts and ethics advice.<br>
<br>
<b>Gift Bans</b><br>

When a city or county attorney's office does not represent the
ethics commission, should that office play any role in an ethics
proceeding? I don't believe it should.<br>
<br>
But that is what happened recently in Cobb County, GA, according to
<a href="http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24902251/article-Board-of-Ethics-m…; target="”_blank”">an

Is local government ethics enforcement appropriate for local
legislators? This question is currently being asked in Sarasota
County, FL and Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KS. A key to whether
this is the right question is who is asking the question. In both cases, it is
local legislators who have been respondents in ethics enforcement
proceedings, and some of their legislative colleagues.<br>
<br>

In most cities and counties throughout the United States, the city
or county attorney is in charge of the government ethics program. I
have written a great deal about why this is not a best practice, but
city and county attorneys still keep providing further reasons.
Here's one from Tioga County, NY.<br>
<br>

Here's another story involving the lack of transparency. This time, the
lack of transparency involves a company getting government
grants.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140319/BUSINESS/303190026/County-…; target="”_blank”">an
article from a week ago on floridaytoday.com</a>, Brevard County,

The story of state legislative interference with local government
ethics programs in Florida continues with a newly amended bill in
the state senate (SB 1474 is attached; see below), sponsored by senator Joe
Abruzzo, whose antagonism to the Palm Beach County ethics program
has been the subject of three City Ethics blog posts in the past

The independent selection of EC members is a great thing for making
a government ethics program appear independent of those under its
jurisdiction and for ensuring that an ethics commission remains
fully stocked with members. But how this selection process is
actually accomplished matters, too.<br>
<br>
There is good and bad in the Palm Beach County (FL) ethics

A month ago, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/broward-county-ig-report-countywide-e…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post about the Broward County (FL) inspector general's
recommendations</a> for ethics reform. A principal recommendation
was to require all local officials, who are under the county ethics
program's jurisdiction, to seek ethics advice from an ethics officer

According to <a href="http://citizensvoice.com/news/luzerne-county-council-should-hold-open-f…; target="”_blank”">an
editorial yesterday in the Luzerne County (PA) <i>Citizens Voice</i></a>,
the Luzerne County council, on advice of the county
attorney, is planning to hold an executive session tomorrow to