2008 Woodie Awards
Lawmakers unable to decide ethical standards for governor
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: News
Associated Press
Lawmakers have been unable to agree on tougher ethical standards for the governor and other high-ranking state officials.
Negotiations on Wednesday yielded no compromise between the House and Senate conferees who have been debating legislation intended to build public confidence in state government.
The administrations of the state's previous two governors were mired by scandal. Former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who left office in December, had been indicted for allegedly conspiring to hire and fire rank-and-file employees based on political considerations, though the charges were later dropped in an agreement with prosecutors. And Fletcher's predecessor, former two-term Gov. Paul Patton, was scandalized by a highly publicized extramarital affair.
The legislation doesn't directly address either of those situations. Instead, it would ban the governor and other statewide elected officials from accepting campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, require all executive branch employees to receive ethics training and spell out that employees who violate ethics rules can be fired.
Lawmakers have been unable to agree on tougher ethical standards for the governor and other high-ranking state officials.
Negotiations on Wednesday yielded no compromise between the House and Senate conferees who have been debating legislation intended to build public confidence in state government.
The administrations of the state's previous two governors were mired by scandal. Former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who left office in December, had been indicted for allegedly conspiring to hire and fire rank-and-file employees based on political considerations, though the charges were later dropped in an agreement with prosecutors. And Fletcher's predecessor, former two-term Gov. Paul Patton, was scandalized by a highly publicized extramarital affair.
The legislation doesn't directly address either of those situations. Instead, it would ban the governor and other statewide elected officials from accepting campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, require all executive branch employees to receive ethics training and spell out that employees who violate ethics rules can be fired.
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