Ethics panel debates issue of fines

Jace Radke

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

The Clark County Ethics Task Force will recommend that the Legislature allow fines for ethics violations at the county level and will ask the state Ethics Commission to enforce ethics rules in the county.

Some members of the task force, which met Wednesday at the County Government Center, argued that the possibility of censure and being voted out of office was consequence enough for ethical violations, but others lobbied for the fines.

Both points of view will be a part of the recommendations that the task force is expected to pass along to the County Commission, possibly as early as this fall.

Task force member David Griego, vice president of business development for the Nevada Energy Buyers Network, insisted on fines, saying that it was something the task force should have instituted during its first incarnation four years ago.

"The first time around we got to this point and left fines out, and now we're back here again for the same kinds of issues," Griego said. "We must request the authority to impose a fine."

The state Ethics Commission can fine violators $5,000 for a first offense, $10,000 for a second offense and $25,000 for a third offense. The commission can also refer ethics violations to the attorney general for possible removal of the offender from office.

Griego suggested that the Legislature be approached to allow the same fines to be accessed for violations of the Clark County Code of Ethics, and the group agreed to ask the Ethics Commission to run the process.

Task Force chairman Dick Morgan, dean of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Boyd School of Law, suggested that elected officials should not be overregulated, and that elected leaders need to be able to show some responsibility.

"Some sanctions are already there, and no one should fire the commissioners except the voters that put them there," Morgan said. "The other officials can sanction their colleagues with a censure.

"I'd think a censure would be a huge flag for voters."

Task force member John Hiatt, who also serves as chairman of the Enterprise Town Advisory Board, said that even with the threat of fines ethics cases can be hard to prove, and they often end in stalemates.

"Sanctions with real teeth in them may seem like a good idea, but many times these cases come down to intent and that's hard to prove," Hiatt said. "In the end the ability to censure, and what the voters can do with the help of the press are much harsher penalties."

The 10-member task force is re-examining the county's ethics rules because of recent incidents involving current and former commissioners who found themselves in ethical dilemmas.

One recent problem involved a legal challenge to a commissioner's ability to propose a growth-limiting ordinance on property near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Another is an ongoing probe by the FBI into a possible connection between current and former commissioners and the owners of two local strip clubs.

The task force agreed Wednesday that the county's one-year "cooling of" period for former elected officials who wish to represent others before county agencies should be extended to include management-level employees of the county. During the "cooling off" period the officials or employees would only be able to represent themselves in actions involving the county.

The only exception to the one-year ban would be for an official or employee who is elected or goes to work for another government agency such as the Henderson, North Las Vegas or Boulder City.

The group also came to a consensus that the penalty of possibly losing a job because of an ethical violation is a major sanction already in place for county employees.

Task force member Craig Walton, a UNLV ethics professor, also suggested that some kind of ethics education for elected officials and county employees should be started.

The task force could have a final set of recommendations when it meets again in September.