Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is trying to remove the term “Texas government ethics” from the list of ridiculous oxymorons.
Good for him.
The Texas Tribune reports that the leading Republican candidate for governor — and the unquestioned favorite to win the job in next year’s election — is proposing a sweeping set of ethics rules that just might make Texas legislators a bit nervous.
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/14/abbott-proposes-far-reaching-ethics-reform/
It is about time someone stepped up.
Abbott’s proposal puts teeth in state ethics laws that are supposed to restrict legislators’ ability to pass laws affecting their private businesses. He would seek to give private citizens the right to sue lawmakers if they believe they have crossed ethical boundaries. “They are supposed to be working for you, not their own bank accounts,” Abbott said in a speech outlining his proposals, according to the Tribune.
The Tribune also reports that Abbott’s proposal takes dead aim at presumptive Democratic nominee state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, whose own legal interests have been questioned as their propriety. Davis’s legal activities have involved principals connected with legislation.
Liberals have applauded Abbott’s proposal as far-reaching and virtually unprecedented. As the Tribune reported: “We haven’t seen a proposal like this in decades, if ever,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a liberal watchdog group that has for years advocated for stricter ethics laws. “This takes giant steps toward eliminating conflicts of interest and improving the sometimes unethical behavior of members of state government.”
Does it go far enough? Probably not. I would like to see laws that seriously restrict legislators’ ability to go from making laws to becoming advocates for businesses affected by laws. I refer to their post-legislative lobbying efforts. Former Texas Democratic House Speaker Pete Laney of Hale Center went from legislator to lobbyist, as did former state Republican Rep. David Swinford of Dumas. Were they able to parlay their relationships into material benefit for their clients? Certainly. That’s not right, either.
It’ll be a challenge for whomever is elected governor next year to try to push any meaningful ethics reform through the Legislature, given lawmakers’ long-held resistance to approving such measures.
Abbott, though, has initiated a long-overdue discussion that should remain front and center of the upcoming campaign for governor.