Ethics

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 »

January 10, 2008 -- Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission today unveiled an ethics agenda that includes a self-imposed limit to a governor’s pardoning power, ethics training and an ethics package to go before the General Assembly.

"I promised during my campaign that I would strengthen the integrity of state government," said Governor Beshear. "It is time that those who serve in the public sector are accountable to the people of the Commonwealth. That starts now with this ethics reform agenda."    » read more »

Urge Public to Discuss Ethical Implications

Ancient Olympians were known to seek potions from astrologers to gain victory on the athletic field. But speakers at a AAAS co-sponsored Capitol Hill briefing warned that modern-day athletes may soon look for an advantage from a different sort of potion-maker: geneticists.

By deliberately altering their genes to increase muscle mass, quickly recover from a sprint, or more efficiently use oxygen, athletes may seek to gain an edge against their opponents.    » read more »

Statement of Laura MacCleery, Director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division

Nov. 6, 2007 -- A federal agency that is supposed to ensure consumer safety must practice the highest ethical standards. But ethical standards of any height are missing when it comes to the business practices and travel junkets of Nancy Nord, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).    » read more »

Law Reforms Contracting Process, Brings Openness and Transparency to State Purchasing Procedures

October 10, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed a landmark bill into law that reforms the State purchasing process, creates a new state Contracting Standards Board with the power to review contracts and brings openness and transparency to the procedures by which State government buys goods and services.    » read more »

10/05/2007 -- Amnesty International today expressed serious concern that US Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada could face up to six year's imprisonment solely for his conscientious objection to participating in the Iraq war. Ehren Watada is due to face US court-martial on 9 October for refusing to deploy to Iraq.    » read more »

10/04/2007 -- Doctors and nurses should not participate in executions ordered by the state in breach of their ethical oath, said Amnesty International in a new report today.

The report, Execution by lethal injection – a quarter century of state poisoning looks at the legal and ethical implications of the use of the lethal injection across the world.    » read more »

September 20, 2007 -- CHICAGO — A new consensus report published today in the ethics journal The Hastings Center Report outlines a basic ethical framework necessary for health system reform. The report, "Improving Access to Health Care: A Consensus Ethical Framework to Guide Proposals for Reform," highlights key ethical obligations and recommendations to guide health system reform proposals in order to improve access to care.    » read more »

September 21, 2007 -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor David Paterson today announced appointments to the New York State Commission on Public Integrity which was established by the Governor and the Legislature as part of sweeping ethics and lobbying reforms enacted earlier this year.    » read more »

September 20, 2007 -- (MONTGOMERY) — Alabama Attorney General Troy King announced that a former DHR employee today was sentenced to two 20-year prison sentences for misusing her public position and stealing more than $120,000 in welfare benefits. Yvette Wilson of Huntsville pleaded guilty yesterday in Madison County Circuit Court to a felony ethics violation and to first-degree theft.    » read more »

Statement of Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen

Sept. 14, 2007 -- Public Citizen heartily applauds all those in the 110th Congress, especially Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and all the freshmen lawmakers from the 2006 elections – for taking a huge step toward delivering on their promise to help “clean up the swamp” on Capitol Hill. The “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007” (S.    » read more »