Consider This...

July 14, 2006

You’ve been hearing for months that lobbying and ethics reform must pass the General Assembly this year.

With perhaps as little as a week left before the end of the session, there is a whole lot of smoke being blown, but very little reform fire.

Converting campaign cash to personal use is now illegal, which is good. But what about an independent ethics commission? What about bans on gift-giving and fundraising by lobbyists?

All these sensible reforms are in grave danger, and if they don’t pass this year, in the wake of so much local scandal, it’s tough to imagine when they will.

A few who oppose reform have admitted that they enjoy the perks of office and believe they deserve them. The more high-minded objection has been that these reform ideas (all of which are common practice in many other states) would be unconstitutional, either because of their usurping of legislative powers or because of their limitations on protected speech. Yet several powerful former judges and justices have weighed in with the obvious assurance that all the recommended reforms are perfectly constitutional.

Progressive North Carolinians should take the time in the next few days to contact their legislators and urge them to pass comprehensive, meaningful ethics reform this year, in the name of good government.

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