Written by
From the Utah Independent Ethics Commission
Good government requires that ethical and wise citizens stand for election as legislators, and such citizens have done so frequently, to our collective benefit. It is the nature of power to corrupt, and common experience and The Federalist Papers teach us that unchecked power and unlimited money create circumstances where a clear vision of the public interest becomes blurred by self-interest, favoritism, and a sense of entitlement. The purpose of this law, therefore, is threefold: (1) To establish clear standards of ethical and fiduciary conduct; (2) To keep honest people honest; and (3) To provide a fair, non partisan, and transparent process for reviewing complaints of ethical violations by legislators.
This type of oversight is necessary on a national level to provide a review process of those transgressions of state officials in an unbiased venue where those state officials were not responsible for the selection of their own state ethics committees members. For instance, in New York the members of the Commission on Public Integrity are selected as follows
The Commission on Public Integrity consists of thirteen members: seven members, including the Chair are selected by the Governor and six members are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Attorney General, the Comptroller, and the four Legislative Leaders. No more than four of the seven members appointed by the Governor can belong to the same political party. Pursuant to Executive Law Section 94(4), the Commission’s Chair is designated by the Governor from among the Commission’s members and, pursuant to Executive Law Section 94(5), any vacancy occurring on the Commission is filled by the Governor in the same manner as the member whose vacancy is being filled.
Help create awareness for the need for such oversight by joining the facebook cause: Create a National Independent Citizens Commission On State Ethics.