Helping legislators be more ethical

By Arthur Wennerstrom, Henderson

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 | 2:03 a.m.

Periodically an article appears like “Law’s vague wording on expenses leaves room for interpretation in how campaign money is spent,” in which Nevada’s weak ethics laws for legislators are justifiably criticized.

Occasionally, some legislator may propose strengthening these laws but, whether this is motivated by a genuine belief in the need for changes or is done just to impress constituents is hard to say; it’s evident that no such law with any strength seems to ever have a chance of passing.

Why leave this to the legislators who have a vested interest in the status quo?

Rather than periodically bemoan this state of affairs, is there any legal reason that a state referendum could not be launched to remedy this situation? Has this not been attempted only because of cost?

I would think that many voters might welcome the opportunity to vote on such an issue. I certainly would!

I suspect many special interests would lobby against such an initiative since it might weaken their ability to influence politicians, but that very act might inspire more people to vote for it.