Editorial: Ethics laws necessary

Friday, March 11, 2005 | 4:58 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

March 12 - 13, 2005

A lot of the turmoil caused by ethical lapses in government over the past two years could have been avoided if the proper laws had been in place. In today's Sun, reporter Steve Kanigher recalls the turmoil and outlines bills that have been proposed to prevent it from happening again.

The double-dipping scandal, for example, might have been avoided if Senate Bill 129 had been on the books. This proposed law would require all public employees who are legislators to take unpaid leaves of absences from their full-time jobs during the biennial, four-month legislative sessions. This would prevent legislators who work, say, for a city or county, from legally receiving simultaneous paychecks from both their regular employer and the state.

SB83 applies to the Board of Regents, which in November 2003 met twice in closed session to discuss disciplinary action against the president of the Community College of Southern Nevada and another top CCSN official. The two were demoted, even though they weren't invited to the closed sessions. The proposed law would grant people whose status is being questioned by the board the right to appear before it and provide testimony.

SB162 would clarify that it's against the law for a public officer, employee or legislator to use state time or equipment for campaign purposes. Controller Kathy Augstine was impeached for those offenses last fall, but successfully argued before the Senate that the law prohibiting those acts was unclear. She was censured, but she kept her job.

We'd like to see all three of these ethical controversies put to rest. Passing these bills just might do it.