Ethics reform was all the rage when Governor Rell took office. You don’t hear the gubernatorial candidates talk about it much these days - they’ve got other important stuff to tackle like resolving the state’s budget crisis, increasing job opportunities and turning the economy around. But vestiges of the Rell administration’s changes to the Office of State Ethics still linger and some are evidenced by the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board’s inability to fill its membership ranks.
The board’s full compliment is 9 but they currently have 6 members. Three vacancies exist as a result of various resignations and the appointments to fill those vacancies are proving hard to make. State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, Senate Minority Leader John McKinney and House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero have appointing authority but they can’t find candidates who want to (or are able to) meet all of the statutory requirements mandated of Board members. The requirements are so restrictive, they say, that potential candidates decline the invitation once they learn of their burdensome nature.
See Litchfield County Register Citizen article
This will hinder the agency’s ability to do business. If one member is absent from a Board meeting, as was the case this past month, then they do not have a quorum and the meeting must be canceled. Imagine if there is an enforcement case pending. The state could wind up paying for attorney’s fees to hold a hearing that ultimately cannot be held because they lack sufficient Board members to carry forward.
Maybe this forebodes a softening of the requirements for Board members. If so, another look should also be taken at the burdensome requirements of the regulated community, some of which cost the state money but which are duplicative and do not necessarily add transparency. For example, monthly and quarterly financial report filing comes to mind. Perhaps we can afford to have the pendulum of ethics reform can swing a few inches back toward center.
Tags: Citizens Ethic's Advisory Board, ethics reform, Office of State Ethics
