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OFFICE
OF SENATOR ROBERT O'LEARY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 25 2009 |
Contact:
Micaelah Morrill
617-722-1570 |
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Senate Passes Ethics Reform
(BOSTON) – Continuing to work towards reforming a number of key areas in state government, Senator O’Leary joined his House and Senate colleagues in supporting legislation that strengthens current ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws, and enhances the integrity of the political process.
“This bill is long overdue and I am very pleased we were able to make it happen this session,” said Senator Robert O’Leary (D-Barnstable). “It is of the utmost importance to restore the public’s faith in state government and from what I understand; this is one of the toughest ethics bills in country. The legislation represents a combined effort from both branches of the legislature, the Governor and numerous stakeholders and I think presents the best of all their ideas. ”
The consensus bill not only bans gifts to public officials, but also increases the authority of the Ethics Commission to investigate and prosecute alleged ethics violations.
“This ethics reform includes the best provisions of all three original proposals from the Senate, House and Governor,” Senate President Therese Murray said. “It sends the message that we are serious about ethics reform, and that violations of ethics and campaign finance laws come with steep consequences. Our intention has always been to craft a strong bill with input from a variety of stakeholders and constituents, and that’s what this final legislation does.”
The legislation bans all gifts to public officials, imposing a hefty civil violation for gifts up to $1,000 and makes it a felony for anything with any gift of value greater than $1,000. The felony charge for gifts greater than $1,000 would carry a penalty of 5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both, and would apply to both the recipient of the gift and the giver.
The consensus bill also provides the Ethics Commission with greater investigatory power to do its work, including enhanced subpoena power, expanded regulatory authority and an increased statute of limitations. Additionally, the bill allows the commission to impose heftier civil sanctions by increasing penalties for all ethics laws violations.
The legislation defines “lobbyist” as anyone paid to promote, oppose or influence, or to attempt to influence the decision of any officer or employee of the executive or legislative branch. It also requires strict performance rules for lobbyists, including registration with the Secretary of State, annual training and detailed reporting.
The bill also target reforms of the state campaign finance system, eliminating all “special committee” arrangements between a state political party and an elected official, allowing only individual contributions up to $5,000 to a political party.
Additionally, the bill requires the disclosure of expenditures and funding for “electioneering communications” (those third-party mailings and ads that support or criticize a candidate or campaign). Furthermore, the bill prohibits individuals from making committee checks payable to themselves.
The bill also does the following:
• Gives the Secretary of State subpoena power;
• Expands the revolving door restrictions on lobbying to the executive branch, establishing a one-year waiting period the same as the Legislature;
• Increases late filing penalties for lobbyists to $50 per day for the first 20 days and $100 per day thereafter;
• Increases criminal penalties for lobbyist registration violations to 5 years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, or both;
• Increases penalties for late-filed campaign reports from $10 per day and not more than $2,500 to $25 per day and not more than $5,000;
• Increases the number of campaign reports filed by political candidates to twice in non-election years and three times in election years;
• Requires that income derived from bribes, corrupt gifts and illegal activity counts as gross income for tax reporting purposes; and
• Gives authority to the Attorney General to regulate and enforce the Opening Meeting Law.
This bill is the third in a series of sweeping reforms targeted at Pensions, Transportation and Ethics passed by the Legislature aimed at saving the commonwealth and its taxpayers millions of dollars over the coming years. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor.
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