Ethics

Washington DC --02 June 2008 -- A new documentary "At the Death House Door" and a Virginia execution of convicted killer Kevin Green have once again stirred the controversy over capital punishment. New questions have been raised in recent years over the U.S. death penalty, as some officials say minorities and the poor are disproportionately put to death. In other cases, DNA tests resulted in the release of a few inmates who were scheduled to die.

On a Friday night in February 1983 a man with a knife walks into a Texas convenience store. The documentary "At the Death House Door" replays the conversation in which Wanda Lopez, a lone clerk, calls the police screaming for help while being attacked.    » read more »

April 3, 2008 -- This week, John McCain is on a tour that his campaign claims is intended to outline the ways McCain's life experiences inform his political leadership. In truth, McCain is leaving out key parts of his bio that reveal the real John McCain.

Yesterday, John McCain completely ignored a key anniversary in one of the incidents that defined his 26 years as a Washington insider and revealed the reality behind John McCain's "do as I say, not as I do" approach to reform: his involvement in the Keating Five scandal.

Senator John McCain: Photo by Wigwam Jones (CC)    » read more »

April 1, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today called on legislative leaders in both chambers and from both parties to work with her to pass a comprehensive, nine-point ethics bill that would, among other things, allow judges to reduce or revoke the pension of a state or municipal official convicted of any crime related to their office and make it a criminal offense to fail to report a bribe. The Governor called for the bill to be passed when the House and Senate meet in full session next week.    » read more »

Mar 05, 2008 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed four more bills passed by the legislature in the ethics reform special session into law. Jindal signed HB 6, HB 7, HB 8, and HB 22 today and will continue to sign additional ethics reform bills in the coming days.

BACKGROUND ON BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW:

HB 6: Requires annual ethics training for all public servants and lobbyists. This law will phase in mandatory training each year for all those governed by the ethics code to promote awareness and compliance with new and existing laws.    » read more »

February 13, 2008, Juneau, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today signed House Bill 317 into law. HB 317 eliminates the limit on compassionate gifts that a legislator or legislative employee may solicit, accept, or receive under the Legislative Ethics Act.

The bill was drafted in an effort to assist Representative Richard Foster, to whom a legislative aide has offered to donate one of her kidneys. Compassionate gifts will still be reported to the Alaska Public Offices Commission to protect the public’s ability to know how elected officials are compensated.    » read more »

February 1, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today said her proposals for the coming legislative session will include a sweeping ethics bill that will greatly increase the number and type of government officials required to file financial disclosures, make the spouse of a Governor a “public official” for purposes of the ethics code and allow a judge to reduce or revoke the pension of a corrupt state employee or public official.    » read more »

January 28, 2008 -- OLYMPIA – Five bills requested by Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna are scheduled for public hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The bills would help keep cell phone numbers private, make it a crime to view child pornography, allow non-commissioned police personnel to assist in child pornography investigations, remove the limit on ethics board penalties and costs and protect consumers from spyware.

Prohibiting third-party marketing of cell phone numbers    » read more »