Editorial: Challenge to ethics law tossed aside

Monday, Dec. 20, 2004 | 9:13 a.m.

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that state government has the power to decide whether political candidates have complied with financial disclosure statements. The court, in a unanimous and welcome decision, overturned a ruling by District Court Judge William Maddox of Carson City. Maddox had determined that the Legislature hadn't given the Ethics Commission the express authority to collect this information and then fine candidates for not complying, but the Supreme Court found otherwise, saying it was clear the Ethics Commission had this power.

The case arose in 2002 after the Ethics Commission tried to force Independent American Party candidates running for elective office to fill out forms listing their income sources, real estate holdings, creditors' names, gift information, business holdings and titles of any public offices they were holding at the time. Despite the reasonableness of the requirement, the Independent American Party filed a lawsuit against the commission. Independent American Party officials contended that the disclosure statements were an unconstitutional invasion of their privacy and discouraged potential contributors from donating to third parties such as theirs.

The Nevada Supreme Court, in its decision, noted that there was no evidence that the forms had a chilling effect on First Amendment rights. Indeed, the Ethics Commission's authority to determine whether the disclosure requirements have been met "is consistent with the policy rationale for the Ethics in Government Law, which is to promote the integrity and impartiality of public officers through disclosure of potential conflicts of interest."

Candidates for the Independent American Party, in the 2002 and 2004 elections, were able to flout the state's requirements for submitting financial disclosure forms. We're glad to see that this will no longer be the case. It's critical that disclosure laws such as these, which can discourage political corruption, not only remain on the books but also are aggressively enforced.