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2013
7
Reforming Virginia’s
Ethics Laws:
Restoring Accountability
and Punishing Violators
By Senator Mark Herring
Egregious lapses in ethical judgment
from our state’s two highest elected officials
have tarnished our Commonwealth’s
reputation and shaken Virginians’ trust in
their public institutions. Governor Bob
McDonnell and Attorney General Ken
Cuccinelli have both contributed to an
environment where special treatment before
the state is available in exchange for gifts.
This undermines Virginia’s economic
development goals and erodes confidence in
state government.
After I called for a Federal investigation into the financial
relationship between Star Scientific, McDonnell and Cuccinelli, we
found out that Cuccinelli was also helping an out-of-state energy
company in a class action lawsuit
against
Southwest Virginians for
over $30 million in gas royalties. At the same time, Cuccinelli received
more than $110,000 in campaign contributions from the company.
I condemned his actions and stated that I would run my office in a
completely different manner.
The Attorney General is charged with defending Virginia and its
residents when companies petition the state. If the Attorney General
receives stock, gifts, or meals from a company with business before the
Commonwealth, how can we trust that elected official to represent
all
Virginians and not the special interests lining their pockets?
My opponent in this race to replace Ken Cuccinelli, Senator Mark
Obenshain, has been silent on these ethics scandals. When asked
whether Cuccinelli should return the Star Scientific gifts, he said he
would leave it to others to figure out the ‘political calculus’. Senator
Obenshain also took a $15,000 contribution from this same out-of-
state energy company as Cuccinelli, signaling a willingness to continue
undermining Southwest Virginians.
That is the wrong approach.
As Virginia’s next Attorney General, I will be committed to
restoring trust in state government and punish those who violate our
ethics laws. McDonnell and Cuccinelli prove that we can’t expect
everyone to do the right thing; we can’t legislate honesty. But we can
make it harder—and more costly—to do the wrong thing.
In August, I rolled out my comprehensive ethics plan to update and
strengthen our ineffective ethics and conflict-of-interest laws.
My plan includes the creation of a State Ethics Commission
with broad authority to administer and enforce Virginia’s ethics rules
and conflict-of-interest laws. It will be empowered to independently
investigate and hold hearings on potential ethics violations and
conflicts-of-interest as well as assess the gaps to eliminate the “grey
areas” plaguing our current system.
My plan prescribes a $100 annual limit on gifts to elected officials
and their immediate family members. There will be no more gifts from
lobbyists and both full disclosure of corporate loans and creditors will
be required. No longer will gifts to lawmakers remain in the dark,
because all disclosures must be made publicly available online within
ten days.
I will require independent audits of financial disclosures and
increase penalties for officeholders who knowingly violate ethics and
conflict-of-interest laws. Gone are the days where those tasked with
safeguarding our Constitution can plead ignorance when it’s clear they
knowingly violated the law—willfully breaking our ethics laws will
result in stiffer penalties.
An open and transparent
government process is
important to Virginians
By Senator Mark Obenshain
I have served as the chief ethics officer
in the law firm that I started in 2003 and
which has grown to nearly 50 employees
in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. It is
important that we have an Attorney General
who will not only hold himself and his
office to the highest standards, but has the
experience and a plan to do so.
We have a system of government in
Virginia that operates on the basis of voter
confidence. Voters in Virginia want to know
that their elected officials are working on the
behalf of their constituents, and not using their positions for personal
gain. I have for a long time supported Virginia’s strong disclosure
laws, but it has become clear over the course of this year that there’s
more that we need to do to uphold voter confidence. Regardless of
whether any laws have been broken, I believe we must learn from
experience and I have put forward a number of proposals to address
gifts and transparency.
I support a ban on gifts to elected officials over a $100 threshold,
and believe that the same rules should apply to members of an elected
official’s household as well. I have pledged in this campaign to abide
by these rules as Attorney General regardless of General Assembly
action. In order to maintain the public trust, I believe that Virginia
must also promptly conduct a thorough review of gift disclosure
laws, which would include evaluating the penalties or sanctions for
failure to disclose.
We need to work to proactively on prevention, and to do that we
must ensure that state officials and employees understand the laws.
As Attorney General, I will see that all Office of the Attorney General
attorneys and staff receive professional ethics training and will offer
conflict of interest and ethics training to all political appointees in the
executive branch.
Transparency and accountability must also be a focus of any
ethics reform. Speaker Howell has joined me in putting forward the
Transparency in Private Attorney Contracts Act (TIPAC) in Virginia,
legislation to ensure that the actions of the Attorney General’s office
always benefit the office’s ultimate client: the people of Virginia. The
Office of the Attorney General frequently retains outside counsel to
pursue specialized litigation on behalf of the Commonwealth; this
legislation will ensure that these contracts are open and procured
through a competitive process, and will establish caps on the fees
collected by outside counsel to ensure that the interests of all
Virginians come first. And with or without the passage of such
legislation, as Attorney General, I will always insist on an open and
transparent process because the Attorney General is the people’s
lawyer.
My focus as Attorney General will be keeping our communities
safe and making sure that Virginia continues to be a place of
opportunity. However, the primary duty of the Attorney General is
to be a good lawyer, and to give good advice to state agencies. I have
practiced law for 26 years, and managed one of the 50 largest law
firms in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have handled complex
constitutional cases, and know the office. I will be ready to step in on
day one and make sure that the Attorney General’s office is working
for all Virginians.
Mark Obenshain is a senator representing the 26th district of
Virginia. He is the Republican candidate for Attorney General.
See
Herring
, continued on page 8
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