Comprehensive ethics legislation passed the South Carolina House this past week. In a guest column in The State, House member Beth Bernstein (D-Richland) says it's the strongest ethics bill since the aftermath of Operation Lost Trust. (I was sole staff to the Senate Ethics Committee during the FBI "sting" known Operation Lost Trust and write about it in my book, Dancing on Mars.)
Rep. Bernstein points out an aspect of the legislation that seems especially significant: " . . . our bill would establish a Joint Legislative Ethics Committee made up of legislators from both bodies, as well as laypeople. The committee would have equal representation from both parties and equal representation from the Legislature and the general public." Having members from the public at-large serving on a Joint Legislative Ethics committee might eliminate the impression that the committees simply wink and nod their way through investigating complaints filed against their members. (I can speak only about my own experience with the Senate Committee, but I recall committee members taking complaints very seriously. I recall the committees investigating complaints and following the law regarding penalties when complaints were found to be valid. Some were complaints, filed by disgruntled citizens, for example, who had wanted a lawmaker to vote a certain way and didn't get their wish.)
The bottom line on ethics, to me, is the more sunshine the better. We've heard that in public service things should not only be right, they should also look right. A Joint Committee with citizen members having equal votes would go a long way toward accomplishing both goals. Here's a link to Rep. Bernstein's column:
http://www.thestate.com/2013/05/05/2754608/bernstein-moving-forward-on-ethics.html
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