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Sen. Kelly to introduce Ethics Legislation this session

(Lewsiton TRibune)

Legislature to include ethics debate

Sen. Kate Kelly will propose several laws, one of which aims to stop politicians from jumping right into lobbying.

By Dean Ferguson

Lewiston Tribune

12/12/07

Idaho needs stiffer laws to keep public officials honest, says the Idaho state Senate minority caucus chairwoman.

"In our growing state, the stakes have gotten high," said Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise. "Handshakes don't have the same meaning they once did."

Kelly will talk about tougher ethics laws Monday at noon at the Moscow School District building. The Moscow League of Women Voters event is free and open to the public.

"That we have had relatively few ethics scandals in recent memory might be explained by the fact that our laws set the bar so low," Kelly told the Lewiston Tribune.

Kelly is in north central Idaho this week on what she jokingly calls her "Good Government Road Tour."

Just because her peers behave admirably, doesn't mean Idaho should leave the doors wide open for abuse, she said.

When the Legislature starts next month, Kelly will propose laws aimed at lobbyist gifts and financial conflicts for candidates and public officials.

One "revolving door" bill would make politicians and other public officials wait a year to become lobbyists. Another law would require a one-year wait for government employees in charge of awarding contracts before taking jobs with companies to which they have awarded contracts.

Idaho has many examples of politicians or officials leaping into the private sector to lobby former colleagues.

In November, Gov. Butch Otter's chief of staff, Jeff Malmen, quit to take a lobbying job with Idaho Power. Micron Technology lobbyist Jason Kreizenbeck took Malmen's old job.

In 2006, there were 392 lobbyists, about three and a half for each of Idaho's 105 lawmakers, Kelly noted.

Lobbyists do not disclose their salaries. They don't report gifts to family members of public officials. They don't disclose business ties with public officials or their families.

Her two proposals would change that, Kelly said.

"The need is there, really," she said, saying the change would boost public confidence in public officials.

Kelly also wants candidates for state offices to disclose personal finances, to shed light on ethical entanglements.

Kelly, a lawyer and former manager with the state Department of Environmental Quality, plunged into ethics laws in 2004. Then, five weeks into her first year as senator, she was thrust onto a Senate Ethics Committee investigating former Sen. Jack Noble, R-Kuna.

Noble had introduced a bill to sell liquor closer to schools. But he didn't note how the law would benefit him directly. Noble later resigned from office.

"That experience gave me a reason to become very familiar with our state's ethics laws," Kelly said.

The Legislature shrugged off ethics reform this year.

The Senate State Affairs Committee rejected a bill, which all seven Senate Democrats cosponsored, requiring candidates to file personal financial statements. Opponents argue the law would discourage people from running for office, Kelly said.

A revolving door bill stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee.

The last major ethics reform was an initiative campaign that drew 80 percent voter approval in 1974. Kelly isn't advocating an initiative, but she said lawmakers have little motivation to challenge the status quo.

"But I do think it's telling that that's how it got done the first time," Kelly said.