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Ethics reform policy passes

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Also by Keegan Kyle:

Nothing to complain about? (December 12, 2007)
Recruiting isn't easy on campus (December 7, 2007)
Doyle set to sign off on ethics (February 2, 2007)
Volunteerism on the road (October 19, 2007)
Down and dirty on campus sanitation (October 11, 2007)

by Keegan Kyle

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature passed the ethics reform bill Tuesday, placing it under the pen of Gov. Jim Doyle.

Doyle praised the Legislature in his State of the State Address Tuesday evening, saying, "I look forward to signing it into law."

Spokesperson Carla Vigue said Monday he could sign the bill — the first of its kind in 30 years — by the end of this week.

The bill combines the state Ethics and Elections Boards into a Government Accountability Board with unlimited resources to investigate ethics, lobbying and campaign-finance violations. The nonpartisan board would be composed of six former judges.

During a week of negotiations, legislators agreed to remove the bill's original "non-severability" provision, which would have scraped the entire bill if any part were ever found unconstitutional.

The bill does include a controversial venue provision that entitles the accused to be prosecuted in their home counties rather than the county in which the violation occurred.

After unanimously passing through the bipartisan Joint Finance Committee Tuesday morning, the Democratic Senate also unanimously approved the bill early Tuesday afternoon. The Republican Assembly passed the bill several hours later, 97-2, after turning down three amendments.

State Reps. Frank Boyle, D-Superior, and Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, opposed the bill.

Boyle said he opposed the bill because it does not reform campaign finance policies.

"We've done nothing but reform the system," Boyle said. "We're doing nothing to prevent million-dollar Senate races."

Schneider called for policy reform through an amendment in session but later recanted after assurance from Assembly leaders that his ideas would be given a chance in the future.

State Rep. Frederick Kessler, D-Milwaukee, voted in favor of the legislation but tried amending the bill's venue provision first.

"In effect, this bill gives a special privilege to the political class," said Kessler, a former judge. "This gives the political class the home field advantage."

State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, also tried amending the bill, calling a provision "way too broad" and "severe" because it would penalize board employees with up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine for disclosing confidential information.

"The goes well beyond criminal investigation and John Doe proceedings," Black said. "There is no reason to have special provision that applies to no other law."

Some legislators said they felt reluctant to amend the bill because it was already agreed upon by both houses and both parties. Before approving the bill, Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-New Berlin, said such a process was rewarding.

"I hope this serves as a model for future legislation," Gundrum said. "I'm proud of the work we've done."

Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, a nonprofit government watchdog group, said the ethics reform bill is not as strong as last year's Senate version, but this is a compromise.

"We have some concerns," Heck said. "Maybe a little too much secrecy, … but it's a step forward."

Heck said the new board will be uncharted territory for Wisconsin but it cannot be the journey's end.

"We haven't put any further restrictions," he added. "This can't be the end of political reform in Wisconsin. The next step is to go after the money."

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