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« Peeking In Again | Main | More on the Ethics Bill » November 16, 2005Joint Committee Passes Ethics BillMembers of a joint legislative committee put aside their differences today and unanimously passed a bill that toughens Tennessee's ethics laws and will serve as a blueprint for a possible special session on the topic.I'll hit the highlights of the bill (and what's missing from it) with brief comments on each item.` House Republican Leader Bill Dunn presented an amendment that one Democrat described as "contradictory, conflicting, confusing and catastrophic."That's a lot of C's, which is a better grade than I would give the committee's efforts. Tennessee is the only state that doesn't have a similar law and it won't anytime soon. The amendment was defeated. For a litte perspective, a 10% stake in Coca-Cola would amount to a little over $10 billion or in the case of Microsoft, $29 billion. Even a 10% share of a small community bank in Tennessee would be about $2 million. This provision would only apply if you stood to make a lot of money from a vote, which makes its exclusion from the bill especially befuddling. Another hot topic of the committee the last two days was whether to ban cash campaign contributions to candidates and political action committees. Again, befuddlement is snatched from the jaws of common sense. Cash contributions are literally impossible to track. It is entirely possible for a candidate to count the booty from a mason jar at a fish fry, put half in his campaign account and the rest in his pocket. It's entirely impossible to prove that it happened. [T]he committee adopted an amendment that would allow employers of lobbyists to provide items such as food and entertainment not exceeding $50; anything over would have to be disclosed.How many $50 meals do you eat each week from January to June. Legislators will still be able to eat them thrice per legislative week without that pesky disclosure. And how will anyone know if someone spends $55 or $75 or $150? Come to think of it, isn't it already against the law for a lobbyist to buy a legislator a "cup of coffee." We are now passing a loophole laden bill to close a loophole in a toothless law. If you were wondering what an exercise in futility looked like, search no more. Another provision adopted by the committee would open to the public all committee meetings of the General Assembly if a quorum of lawmakers is present.It's a step. Sideways. Those secret budget meetings we hear so much about usually consist of a small handful of Finance Committee members. Never do they have a quorum call in a room at the Sheraton. I can think of several ways to subvert this proposal, but I won't bore you with them. Not one meeting currently held in secret will be brought into the sunshine. Too bad for Tennessee. The committee was also able to come to a consensus on how the independent ethics commission would be composed.[snip]Democrat Governor picks two Democrats. Democratic Speakers each pick one Democrat and the least Republican of three Republicans submitted by the GOP's caucuses. That gives us four Democrats and two Republicans. It's every bit as problematic when Republicans run the place. An Ethics Commission should have balanced party representation and members that aren't appointed by a Governor who shreds sexual harassment documents and promotes state troopers based on political support, a Speaker who is married to a lobbyist and another Speaker goes on sales calls for law firms that collect debts for said Speaker's law clients. I have great news for you, my fellow Tennesseans. Our legislature will soon pass an ethics law that will do nothing to improve ethics on Capitol Hill. Posted in Tennessee Waltz Investigation
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