About ethics reform
State Rep. Dan Greenberg pats himself on the back for a tepid stab at ethics reform. I'm not inclined to join.
With annual sessions ahead, now more than ever we need a law -- not House rule -- that requires detailed reporting of lobbyist expenditures on legislators and what interests they are advancing when that money is spent. As a check on the lobbysts' truthfulness, legislators, too, should report gifts from lobbyists, with no exceptions for dinners under $40 and no exceptions for so-called group events.
Better still would be the Wal-Mart rule: a law banning gifts of any sort to legislators, even a cup of coffee. But absent the perfect, meaningful and enforceable disclosure that applied to all and would be enforced by an independent body (not other House members) is at least a step in the right direction. Get it now, Dan?
Comments
How about this.....since our legislature seems so ethics-ly challenged at times, how about no gifts, no freebies, not even free cups of coffee ever? If you can't afford to pay for your own cup of coffee...you have no business in the Arkansas legislature.
It's a damn shame we have to follow around a bunch of adults to make sure they're not scooping up payoffs, but everything points to that being the case. Like ex-cons on probation, you can never trust a politician with any wiggle room...they'll wiggle nearly every time.
If they don't like the no gift rules.....resign!
Posted by: Deathbyinches![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 10, 2008 11:46 AM
dan is right on one thing. Max is a angry old man. he is bitter about something that im sure would take nothing less than a team of shrinks to uncover.
Posted by: Maxwell Smart![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 10, 2008 09:12 PM