Talk of Ethics Reform in Oakland and Sarasota County
An Oakland Ethics Reform Proposal
Ethics Codes
June 28, 2013
Current Ethics Reform III - Prince George's County, MD and Kenosha, WI
Prince George's County, MD
June 27, 2013
Current Ethics Reform I - Orange County and Oakland, CA
Over the last few weeks, while I was putting the finishing touches
on the second edition of the book Local Government
Ethics Programs, there was a lot of action in the area of
ethics reform. In the next few blog
posts, I will summarize the action.
Orange County, CA
Orange County, CA
August 1, 2012
Maryland Local Ethics Requirements
It's a good idea for states to encourage the creation of local
government ethics programs by drafting model ethics codes. It's also
a good idea for states to require minimal local government ethics
provisions. What is not good is model codes and minimal requirements
that are not accompanied by explanations and do not provide
alternatives and recommendations for improvements. Such codes and requirements can, among other things, provide support for officials who prefer a poor, limited, ineffective ethics program to a good, comprehensive, effective one.
June 11, 2012
A New Government Ethics Report from a New Florida Organization
In recent years, Florida's elected officials have shown a great deal
of leadership in the field of unethical and criminal misconduct. The
state has a weak state ethics commission, which has jurisdiction
over local officials, and until recently only one good local
government ethics program, in Miami/Dade County (Jacksonville and
Palm Beach County joined this list with ethics reform last year).
The major voices in government ethics in Florida have, sadly, been
grand juries.
Ethics Codes & Reform
September 14, 2011
Federal Gift Prohibition Applies to Most Local Governments
I came across a decision in Patty Salkin's Law
of the Land blog today involving a federal statute that
allows federal prosecution of those who give gifts to local
officials in amounts greater than $5,000.
June 12, 2011
Citizens' Views of Ethics Reform in Jacksonville
I don't write about Jacksonville much, because my colleague at City
Ethics, Carla Miller, is the city's ethics officer. She has been
working hard to ensure that the city's ethics commission is given more
authority and independence, and that the city's ethics laws are
improved. This week, the council will be moving closer to approving, or
undermining, reforms.
Ethics Codes & Reform
February 16, 2011
State Ethics Mandates for Local Governments
Unfunded Open Meetings Mandate in California
Local governments' protests against unfunded state mandates might, in this time of spending cuts, lead to the undermining of state ethics laws that apply to local governments. The first sign of this is in California, of course.
Local governments' protests against unfunded state mandates might, in this time of spending cuts, lead to the undermining of state ethics laws that apply to local governments. The first sign of this is in California, of course.
February 3, 2011
Lobbying, Influence, Bribery, and Gift-Giving in Alabama
Last month, I did a
blog
post on the huge exceptions to Alabama's
new
gift provisions (pp. 24-26). What I didn't note was the similarities, and the gulf,
between the bribery provision in Alabama's constitution and the gift provisions in the old and new statutes, and how this
has been dealt with, or ignored.
December 30, 2010
A Grand Jury Report in Florida Recommends Numerous Ethics Reforms
In February, Florida governor Charlie Crist asked for a grand jury to
report on government corruption in Florida. The
first
interim report was filed yesterday. Its recommendations involve local government as well as state ethics laws.
The report begins (p. 3) by characterizing fraud, waste, and abuse of government resources as "Florida's Corruption Tax," a nice way to spin the issue.
The report begins (p. 3) by characterizing fraud, waste, and abuse of government resources as "Florida's Corruption Tax," a nice way to spin the issue.