Proposal For Ethics Reform Expected To Be Finalized Next Week

Speaker Brian Bosma says the House Ethics Committee will meet next week to finalize its proposal for changes to the House ethics rules.

Lawmakers are responding to ethics scandals of the past year by enacting reforms along two tracks.  One track is ethics reform legislation.  The other involves changes to the House’s internal ethics code.  Those changes are being prepared by the House Ethics Committee, the only committee with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. 

The committee met in December to review proposed changes and committee leadership expected to meet the first week of session to finalize its proposal.  But two weeks have gone by without a meeting.  Ranking minority member Clyde Kersey says lawmakers have been working behind the scenes, debating language for things such as conflicts of interest.

“And it’s very difficult when you have a citizen legislature because practically everyone here goes to their job after the session’s over," Kersey said, "and so we had to make sure that we didn’t put any limitations in there that would prevent anyone from running for office or staying in office because of their job.”

Once the language is approved by the House Ethics Committee, it will go to the Rules Committee before heading to the House floor for adoption.