Justice Dept. signs off on state's ambitious ethics-reform law

[flashl]

Clarion Ledger
Chris Joyner • August 7, 2008

The U.S. Department of Justice has given its OK for Mississippi to put into action the state's most sweeping government ethics and transparency reform in decades.

Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law in May a bill that gives the Mississippi Ethics Commission significantly more authority.

Because the law touches on portions of state law dealing with the election and removal of public officials, it required federal approval before it could go into effect. In a letter sent Tuesday, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division informed state officials that U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey "does not interpose any objection" to the law.

Among other provisions, the law:

# Gives the commission authority to mediate disputes over open meetings and public records and issue rulings or opinions based on the law.

# Expands the number of public officials who must file economic conflict of interest statements and requires the reports to be posted to the commission Web site.

# Doubles the fines for ethics violations to $10,000.

Dick Johnson, chairman of the Mississippi chapter of Common Cause, said the legislation is "a substantial step forward" in promoting ethical and open government in the state.

"It's the sort of thing we have been working on. We talked with (Ethics Commission Executive Director) Tom Hood a while back on it," he said. "We've been pleased to see it go along and develop."

No offense to Du'ers from Mississippi. Ethic and Mississippi is an oxymoron, I have been po'ed with MS leadership since Katrina and now by the recent State Farm settlement.

[midnight]

1. I must be suffering from mistrust, because I feel like this is not

what it sounds like.

[ProwlingOwl]

2. This ethics is merely a false sense of security and is easily defeated.

This looks like what we all want, but in Oklahoma we also have the same requirements that Common Cause was quick to add its stamp of approval praising state lawmakers for their accomplishment. Yet the law was useless from the start.

Here is how it was done. Oklahoma lawmakers passed another law that prevents the public from learning the identities of those receiving money from certain programs. In this case a tax credit program that pays investors $2 for every $1 they invest. The public is not allowed to learn which entities (almost always another LLC) is getting the tax credits. State officials and lawmakers file they have a business interest in John Doe LLC. There is no way to follow the trail to learn if John Doe LLC is receiving tax credits or doing business with the state The state is losing $100s million per year from tax credits with knowing anything. There is a way to beat any and everything.