Michael Hubbard, the speaker of the Alabama House, was convicted Friday of felony ethics charges and faces a long stint in prison.

The New York Times notes that the Republican fell victim to ethics laws passed in 2010 after Republicans took control of the legislature.

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Alas, Republican control of the Arkansas legislature has only brought a loosening of an ethics amendment approved by voters, higher legislative pay and looser term limits.

But I call attention to this sentence in the Times article with particular emphasis:

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Mr. Hubbard, who was convicted of improperly soliciting benefits from lobbyists and voting in favor of a measure that helped a company for which he consulted ….

In the last year or so, the Arkansas Blog has reported on a senator who got bailed out of a financial tight by a loan from a lobbyist; about a legislative leader who handled legislation that benefitted a paying customer of his legal practice; “consulting fees” paid by political interest groups to legislative leaders (including the same fellow who handled legislation for a legal client); a legislator who offered a bill that directly helped his water treatment business; a legislator who effectively deregulated the school district his wife runs (and from which she took an illegal payment for health insurance); seen a state agency director do business with an agency she regulated; saw a legislator become a “consultant” and then full-fledged lobbyist for a health businesses offered immense profit opportunities thanks to that lawmaker’s legislation; seen legislative leaders scrounge money from lobbyists so they could be feted at lavish banquets to which lobbyists, but not the public, were invited. And that’s just a few that come readily to mind.

There ought to be a law.

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Michael Hubbard is a good illustration of why you best not hold your breath for the Arkansas legislature to get tough on ethics.

PS — Here’s the bill of particulars against Hubbard who egregiously solicited money from corporate players. But the charges also included voting on legislation in which he had a conflict of interest. If this was a crime in Arkansas … . 

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