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President steps down, Zone 7 contested in
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District board not being slowed down by weighty
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George proposes new ethics rules for lawmakers |
The freshman state senator joins others in
proposing bills clamping down on ethics violations |
By Schellene
Clendenin, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail Schellene at
sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Legislators in Oregon are paid less than $20,000 per year, plus $99
per day for their services during session. That’s why many also have
second jobs as consultants, business owners and attorneys.
But the influence clients of some legislators may have over the
lawmakers — and the possibility that there may be conflicts of
interest undisclosed among them — has left at least one legislator
worried.
Sen. Larry George (R-Sherwood), is concerned that Oregon laws
dealing with the disclosure of client lists of legislators are
flawed. Not requiring legislators to release those lists to the
public gives them too much temptation to hide behavior that amounts
to a conflict of interest, he maintained.
Oregon
law says if legislators are presented with a bill that may cause a
conflict of interest, they must excuse themselves from discussion on
the bill, but they also must vote on it.
Ron Bersin, executive director of the Oregon Government Standards
and Practices Commission (GSPC), said that with only 90 or so
legislators — often with only one providing a voice for his or her
constituents — serving communities in Oregon, denying them a vote is
impractical.
That’s not all George wants to change.
Senate Bill 674, a bill that has been sponsored by George, and
supported by Sens. Ted Ferrioli, Gary George, Rick Metsger and Bruce
Starr, would provide a dedicated source of funding for a new ethics
enforcement agency; prohibit a member of the legislature from being
appointed to an executive agency while in office and from becoming a
paid lobbyist until two years after their term in office; and expand
the information required on annual statements of economic interest
to include more detail on financial interests.
George would like to take ethics enforcement out of the hands of
GSPC, which he feels is too closely tied to the Oregon State Bar
Association.
And he said he’s concerned that legislators may be tempted to do
favors for lobbyists in exchange for lucrative jobs after they leave
elected office. George said he feels if the legislators are unable
to accept those jobs until two years after their term ends, there
would be fewer temptations on legislators to seek favors.
“New laws mean nothing by themselves, we need a strong enforcement
agency to give them teeth,” George said.
In addition, the bill would require statements of economic interest
to be filed quarterly instead of annually. The statements will
include all food, lodging or travel expenses received with a value
more than $75 and all income exceeding $1,000 in total value.
“The public needs to be confident that Salem is complying with a
strict code of ethics,” George said. “Let’s restore integrity to the
image of public service and prove ourselves worthy of the public
trust.”
Bersin, the GSPC director, said even if SB 674 becomes a law,
attorneys — due to attorney-client privilege — would be unable to
release their client lists.
He said if the GSPC finds a legislator has committed a breach of
ethics by not declaring a conflict of interest, that person could be
sanctioned. |
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From
March 3, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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