Legislators say ethic questions a concern
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Because of those allegations, Ford was forced to appear before the Senate Ethics Committee, which seemed largely indifferent about his behavior. This created nothing short of outcry from a public concerned about the possible corruption of its elected officials.
The result has been a push for ethics reform on Capitol Hill. It’s reform all of our local representatives believe would be helpful.
“I think there needs to be some tightening,” said state Sen. Jerry Cooper. “But at the same time there has to be some balance. You can’t place too many restrictions on disclosures or it will discourage people from running for office. We’re just supposed to be part-time legislators. If you have to disclose too much, people just won’t run.”
Added state Rep. Charles Curtiss, “There needs to be a stringent set of rules and we shouldn’t be the ones to enforce them. The legislature can’t be expected to police itself.”
Lawmakers have been grappling with a flood of recent ethics proposals, trying to improve an image tarnished by mounting criticism of Ford’s business and consulting ties to government contractors. State Rep. Judd Matheny said he proposed legislation which would have stiffened the penalties against lawmakers like Ford.
“The worst he’s looking at is a $50 fine,” said Matheny referring to Ford. “I had proposed to make it a Class E Felony, which is much more in line with the kind of punishment it needs to have. As it stands now as a Class C Misdemeanor, you have to pay more of a fine if you speed, or write a worthless check. When your actions can affect 6 million people, that’s a Class E Felony that should be punished by six years in jail and a stiff fine.”
Another major cloud of suspicion surrounding the General Assembly is the involvement of lobbyists in the law-making process. There are over 600 registered lobbyists, which is four times the number of elected officials.
Cooper, as chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee, is confronted by a countless number of lobbyists every day.
“I come in contact with a lobbyist about every hour,” said Cooper. “Depending on what issues are one my committee calendar, it may be every five minutes. I was just downstairs grabbing lunch and two lobbyists came and sat beside me at the counter. I was sitting there just trying to read about Brent Schaeffer getting kicked off the UT football team and there they came.”
Cooper says the lobbyists have never tried to bribe him with a campaign contribution.
“I’ve been here 20 years and that’s never happened,” said Cooper. “Sen. Ford and his stuff hasn’t helped anybody. It’s like having one bad student who spoils your whole class. Most of the lobbyists who tell you the truth are real helpful.”
Matheny and Curtiss agreed that lobbyists do play an important role in keeping them informed. With some 2,300 pieces of legislation going through the General Assembly this year, it’s impossible to keep up with everything.
“The lobbyists serve an important purpose,” said Matheny. “For one thing, they let the voice be heard for a whole group so all of those people don’t need to come up here individually. As long as a lobbyist can come to me and tell me both sides of an issue, I’ll always keep my door open to them.”
Rules have also been tightened to restrict lobbyists taking legislators out to dinner. Now an entire committee must be asked to dinner, not just one lawmaker.
“To me a lobbyist is another resource,” said Curtiss. “The reality is they come to express their views on a piece of legislation. I’ve never felt myself in a situation where I felt pressured one way or the other.”
Curtiss said he’s sorry the actions of one individual have put all elected officials under extreme scrutiny.
“Most of the people here in the General Assembly are good people,” said Curtiss. “But I always like to say the General Assembly is a cross section of society. There are good, bad and indifferent people here, but the majority of them are good.”