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Expanded ethics bill to cover public employees wins support
12-23-2007 - from Huntsville Times, BOB LOWRY Times Staff Writer
Proposal includes array of additional officials, workers
MONTGOMERY - The head of the state Ethics Commission has endorsed a bill by two North Alabama lawmakers that would require public officials and employees and their spouses to disclose if they are working for or have contracts with the government.
The bill has been prefiled in the House by Reps. Mike Ball, R-Madison, and Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said he will sponsor it in the Senate.
"It's not targeted toward any particular group, but it's to allow openness in the political process, which I believe breeds confidence in government among the public," Orr said Wednesday.
A similar bill was introduced in the 2007 session, but bogged down in the Senate logjam. That bill, however, included only state officials and employees, plus their spouses.
Ball said the new bill would cover an array of additional public officials and employees, including elected and appointed municipal and county workers.
Also falling under the category of "state" employees would be those who work for colleges and universities, technical colleges, the Legislature, all courts and city and county school systems.
The bill would require those covered to file a detailed public report with the Ethics Commission within 30 days of election, employment or the date of receiving a contract.
"People can look at it (report) and weigh it for what it's worth," said Ball. "I believe the greatest value of this bill is potential for deterrence of improper personal gain by those empowered by the electorate to oversee their state, county, and local governments."
Violation of the proposed law would fall under the Ethics Commission statute.
Jim Sumner, executive director of the Alabama Ethics Commission, said he supports the bill as "a better way to see and understand who has a contract and other relationships with government."
"I think it would be a positive change in the law to prevent a number of things from going forward when the public later learned about it and said, 'Gosh, I wish I had known about this earlier.' " he said. "I think it would be a positive addition to the law."
Ball said he believes he has bipartisan support in the House for his legislation, which he said was inspired by reports of legislators who have contracts with two-year colleges and state agencies.
Alabama News