Vermont is one of the only states without comprehensive ethics laws governing the conduct of public officials, and the independent advocacy organization Campaign for Vermont (CFV) has set out to change this fact.
In a policy paper released by CFV co-founder Bruce Lisman, the organization laid out specific proposals for establishing standards of conduct for public officials that is enforced by an independent, non-partisan and quasi-judicial commission. Specifically, the organization calls on lawmakers to enact ethics laws that: ‘
Establish an independent ethics commission
Require statewide elected officials to disclose financial interests on an annual basis
Require the identification of conflicts of interests for all legislative and statewide office holders
Require disclosure of employment duties
Prohibit the use of public resources for personal gain and/or favoritism in state contracting process
Address nepotism and patronage issues ‘
‘Accessibility is not the same as transparency,’ said Lisman. ‘Seeing your public official at a meeting or bumping into them at the grocery store is neither transparency nor accountability. ‘
‘There is no place for Vermonters, or officials themselves, to turn if there are concerns about inappropriate conduct, or the appearance of inappropriate actions," said Lisman. ‘Vermont is a forward thinking state that likes to be on the leading edge. Why then, should we be content with being close to last in the nation in transparency, accountability and enforceable ethics policies?" ‘
Long-time promoter of effective ethics measures, David Coates, echoed Lisman's sentiments. ‘
‘Vermont is full of hardworking, honest citizens," said Coates. "It is not too much to ask to have a strong system of checks and balances for our elected leaders.’ ‘
Vermont ACLU Executive Director Allen Gilbert also joined Campaign for Vermont in its call for action. He noted the ACLU has long supported financial disclosures for public officials and believes ethics measures are essential for government accountability. ‘
‘It’s important for a citizen to know if there are possible, or real, conflicts of interest or explicit conflicts of interest,’ Gilbert said. ‘
Political commentator Bill Schubart who has been a vocal advocate for transparency said, ‘Transparency is the ability to understand and measure the results of government initiatives. It is not a partisan issue,’ he adds. ‘
‘Ethics are the same. We all need clear ethical standards in the form of statute and oversight with regarding to conflict management and self-dealing. This is hardly a partisan issue. We are all better served by a clear code of ethical standards, oversight, transparency and accountability,’ said Schubart. ‘
VERMONT HAS ‘HIGH RISK’ OF ETHICS VIOLATIONS
CFV’s report notes that current laws only address specific criminal activity, but not ethics and professional conduct in each branch and at each level of state government. ‘
Vermont ranks 43rd in government integrity laws according to the Better Government Association. Additionally, the State Integrity Investigation gave Vermont a D+ for corruption risk. These rankings are, in part, due to a lack of a clear and enforceable code of ethics, according to the CFV report. ‘
The report goes on to note that Vermont has the highest risk for embezzlement in the country, according to Marquet International. ‘
‘That risk has become reality too many times at the local level," Lisman said. ‘
Criminal misconduct ‘ like embezzlement and abuse of political power for personal gain ‘ point to the need for ethics laws and enforcement systems, CFV concludes in its paper. ‘
"There is the potential for ethically questionable acts the general public may never see or hear about because there is no place for a Vermonter to turn if they think an official has acted inappropriately,’ Lisman said. ‘
ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT ACCOUNTABILITY
Lisman said accessibility is too easily confused with transparency. ‘Our state affords us the pleasure of knowing our neighbors," said Lisman. "It is full of small towns where we all know just about everyone. However, we should not mistake seeing elected officials at a meeting, gas station, grocery store or high school athletic event as transparency or accountability. It is accessibility’and it is valuable’but it does not translate to transparency and accountability in government itself. We shouldn’t allow politicians and special interests to convince us otherwise.’ ‘
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY TOP CFV PRIORITY FOR SESSION
Lisman said greater government transparency and accountability would be the top priority of the non-partisan, independent advocacy organization in the 2014 legislative session. ‘
‘In our advocacy paper Achieving Accountability: Transforming State Government into a Modern, Transparent 21st Century System, Campaign for Vermont (CFV) laid out a detailed plan for transforming state government into a transparent organization capable of solving Vermont’s most pressing challenges like a stagnant economy and chronic poverty, ‘said Lisman. ‘Transparency and ethics are inextricably linked. That’s why we’ve added these ethics reforms to the top of our advocacy agenda. ‘
‘We expect some politicians will give lip service to the idea of ethics laws but take no action," said Lisman. "Others will try to explain why ethics laws are unnecessary; or try to water them down. We’ll point them out for you, because they’re the ones we should be most concerned about.’
Source: CFV 1.2.2014