Law undermines ethics, former board officials say
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With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Bobby Jindal undermined a 40-year-old Louisiana law that stopped people from personally benefiting from their service on government boards, former state ethics officials said.
On Tuesday, Jindal said he signed the legislation that won overwhelming legislative approval to allow more “qualified people” to serve on government boards.
If problems develop, Jindal said he would seek repeal of the measure.
Jindal touts achieving a “gold standard” in ethics and made it his top priority in a special February legislative session.
But Jindal’s signing of the legislation allows appointees to now stay on boards when some conflicts of interest arise.
Effective Aug. 15, the new law lets appointees to simply refuse to vote when there’s a conflict. In addition, they cannot participate in debate.
Previously, appointees had to quit government boards if ethics problems arose.
“The idea of recusal is inconsistent with an ethics code,” said Robert Roland, a former Louisiana Board of Ethics chairman.
“It’s an absolute devastating blow to the ethics code,” said lawyer Gray Sexton, who served as the Ethics Board’s general counsel for decades until last year.
“I cannot think of any other legislative action that would do more damage to the ethics program than allowing someone to serve when they have a conflict,” Sexton said.
The old law had been in effect since 1967. Considered the “cornerstone” of state ethics laws, it banned people from serving when they, their next of kin and businesses had interests affected by dealings of the boards on which they serve.
Roland said there was a good reason for the old law.
While an appointee doesn’t vote, his friends on the board can help him out — approving or disapproving transactions that benefit the individual who has a conflict, Roland said.
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