SENATE RULES COMMITTEE TO BEGIN HEARINGS ON THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION ACT
For Immediate Release: February 27, 2019
Contact: Chris Nordstrum (415) 601-1992
(Santa Fe) Senator Linda M. Lopez, Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, announced today that the committee would commence hearings on Senate Bill 619, The State Ethics Commission Act on Saturday, March 2.
“I have been closely following the Ethics Commission legislation Representative Damon Ely has sponsored and successfully stewarded through the House Judiciary Committee, and the valuable public input provided through the hearings and the work of the Ethics Commission Workgroup, which was co-chaired by Representative Jim Dines and me during the interim session.” said Senator Lopez.
“I do have several concerns that the legislative committee process will need to address to ensure the commission meshes well with existing statutes covered by the commission act, and the existing enforcement of those statutes by a multitude of agencies such as the Secretary of State, the General Services Department, the Office of the State Auditor and the Attorney General, to name a few.
“And, we must accept the fact that the State Ethics Commission will likely face efforts by those attempting to subvert the intent of the commission with the goal of damaging an individual’s reputation. As such, I will be working to ensure that the delicate balance between the public’s absolute need and right to know what their government is doing, and the protection of an innocent person’s reputation from politically motivated complaints, is maintained.
“Finally, it has been represented by some that our state is void of mechanisms that hold governmental officers accountable for illegal activities, and they often use the illegal acts of former elected officials in this debate. I think it important to reassure the public that there are both state and federal laws in place that have resulted in these actors being held accountable for their illegal actions, with most serving long prison terms and losing their public positions for those actions.”
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