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Our Views: Fostering real ethics reform

(The Advocate)

Every politician claims to be for government reform, but true reform means changing things for the better, and not all change is reform.

That distinction should be the standard for judging whether ethics legislation proposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal and passed by the Legislature is real reform, or just the appearance of reform.

Frank Simoneaux, the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics, told the Press Club of Baton Rouge that changes in ethics investigation and enforcement championed by Jindal have "crippled" the ethics system in Louisiana.

Simoneaux is far from alone in his criticism. The Ethics Board recently voted 8-2 to support a report that essentially makes  Simoneaux's case. Meanwhile, the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that studies state issues, has joined Simoneaux in calling for an independent review of the new ethics changes.

We urge Jindal and his supporters to take these concerns seriously. Jindal promised a gold standard of ethics in Louisiana, and if the governor is truly committed to that goal, he should worry when most members of the  Ethics Board complain that changes to ethics laws are crippling ethics investigation and enforcement.

Simoneaux said the main problem is a new law that moved judicial power from the Ethics Board to administrative law judges who are hired by an appointee of the governor. The law was prompted by complaints from legislators and some local officials that the Ethics Board was violating due process protections by sitting as both prosecutor and judge of ethics complaints.

Simoneaux said he agrees there should be a division of powers between prosecutorial and judicial functions, but the new law goes about this the wrong way, creating untenable conflicts between the Ethics Board and the administrative law judges.

Simoneaux said he'd like the Louisiana State Law Institute, a division of the Legislature, or some other impartial body to study the new law and suggest any changes deemed necessary. A majority of members of the Ethics Board have asked for the same thing. PAR also has said it would like the Law Institute to study the new ethics law.

The Law Institute will take special assignments if requested to do so by a joint resolution of the Legislature. Simoneaux said he's gotten nowhere in pressing his idea among members of the Jindal administration.

Louisiana Speaker of the House Jim Tucker, a Terrytown Republican and Jindal ally, said that if Simoneaux "is dissatisfied with the process, he needs to resign."

Tucker's suggestion is flippant and irresponsible, in our view. Simoneaux's concerns on this issue are shared by others, and Simoneaux's exit from the Ethics Board won’t make this issue  go away.

Although Jindal and many of his supporters seem ready to hang a "Mission Accomplished" banner over the cause of ethics reform, there is still much work to do in truly improving the ethics climate in Louisiana government.

A review by the Law Institute of the recent changes in state ethics laws is a logical next step.