In the states - Common Cause lobbying efforts

RHODE ISLAND ISSUES AN SOS

Rhode Islanders will remember 1991 as a banner year for scandal.

It began with the collapse of the state-wide banking system in January and continued with Pawtucket's mayor pleading guilty to shaking down contractors for campaign contributions, a state Supreme Court justice resigning in disgrace, a judge cited for accepting loans from lawyers with cases before his court, and a former governor fined by the state ethics commission for steering contracts to political donors and friends.

"The conflicts of interest were blatant and many," says Phil West, executive director of CC/Rhode Island, which ended the year by pulling together business, community and religious leaders in a fight for reform. In December the coalition, called RIght Now!, staged its debut with a rally at the statehouse. Amid banners, buttons and bells, coalition chair and Hasbro CEO Alan Hassenfeld claimed, "We've been a silent majority. For once, let's get our act together and show [the legislature] that the people mean something."

The coalition has proposed a comprehensive ethics/campaign finance reform package that institutes a one-year waiting period for legislators who seek state jobs after leaving office; prohibits public officials from using their office to create financial gain for relatives; reduces the state ethics commission from 15 members to seven and streamlines its procedures; prohibits personal use of campaign funds; bans honoraria for elected officials; prohibits corporate campaign contributions; and improves campaign finance reporting by PACs, candidates and state vendors.

In radio and television shows and numerous public appearances, West has called on residents to realize that, without "ethics in Rhode Island, we will have no state left."

CC/Rhode Island's quest for accountable government got its most recent shot in the arm when the state ethics commission fined former Gov. Edward DiPrete $30,000 for steering state contracts to two political cronies. The decision, handed down December 20, stemmed from complaints filed by CC/Rhode Island in 1989. The commission fined DiPrete $10,000 for each violation and an additional $5,000 in each case for failing to file a conflict-of-interest statement.

West is optimistic about passage of the reform package. Meanwhile, the coalition has asked the public to suspend their campaign contributions until the reform package is passed.

"That got their attention," says West of the state lawmakers.

IT'S WHO YOU KNOW

In January CC/Maryland launched a "Campaign for Accountable Politics" that, among other things, would take politics out of college scholarships. CC/Maryland wants a $6.4 million scholarship fund now administered by lawmakers transferred to the state's general scholarship fund, where financial aid professionals could take over.

A recent Laurel Leader news story said many scholarships have gone to children of political donors and legislative staff.

In a 50-page report, "Maryland's Senatorial Scholarship Program: Political Patronage at Taxpayer Expense," CC/Maryland identified 1,200 scholarships awarded in 1990 and 1991 to students whose family income exceeded $50,000. Under the current law, senators -- who will each have control of $108,000 in 1992 scholarship funds -- are supposed to consider financial need.

"We don't want legislators to be involved in any way," says CC/Maryland Executive Director Phil Andrews. "They have no expertise in this field and the [awards] amount to nothing more than incumbent protection."

Maryland is the only state that still allows the legislature to select scholarship recipients.

LEGISLATIVE CLEAN-UP

CC/Arizona and CC/South Carolina tasted victory last fall when significant reform passed both states' legislatures in the wake of recent bribery and ethics scandals.

In a one-day special session, the South Carolina legislature passed a 153-page ethics law that prohibits lobbyists from giving anything of value to public officials; bans honoraria to government employees and cash campaign contributions of more than $25; limits campaign donations to $3,500 per source per election cycle for statewide candidates and $1,000 for other candidates; and institutes criminal and civil penalties for violations of the law.

"This new law will neutralize the improper influence of a lobbyist on a public official," says CC/South Carolina Executive Director John Crangle.

In Arizona, where seven legislators were indicted for allegedly accepting thousands in cash bribes for support of a gambling bill, legislators meeting in special session passed landmark lobby disclosure reform. According to CC/Arizona Executive Director Dana Larsen, the legislation imposes a $10 cap on gifts to legislators, requires lobbyists to list legislators who receive more than $20 in food or entertainment, and increases the frequency of lobby disclosure.

COPYRIGHT 1992 Common Cause Magazine
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