An ethics bill introduced by a Montgomery County state senator would do more to create ethical loopholes for lawmakers than close them, critics say.
Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery County, has submitted legislation that would scale back some financial disclosure requirements for local elected officials.
Raskin told a state Senate committee Friday that the bill is designed to balance ethics laws established by the General Assembly in 2010 that are too
far-reaching.
But the bill would serve to hide potential ethical lapses from state residents who would have less access to their local elected officials’ business interests and finances, according to Susan Wichmann, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, an open-government advocacy organization.
Raskin’s ethics legislation could potentially create scenarios allowing local officials to conduct government business related to their own private work without the public’s knowledge, she said.
Current rules already allow the State Ethics Commission to create exemptions for local officials from disclosing certain information that doesn’t relate to their government duties, Wichmann said. Local governments simply need more time to figure out where they stand in relation to the ethics commission.
“The 2010 law gives the State Ethics Commission authority to carve out certain jurisdictions and give different standards,” Wichmann said. “Now we’re in a transition phase where every jurisdiction hasn’t worked out their standing with the State Ethics Commission.”
Supporters of the bill argued that ethics rules are driving away potential candidates for public office by asking officials to disclose too
much.
“We had local elected officials who said we’re not going to run for re-election because they said it went too far, too deep and too broad,” said Candace Donoho, director of government relations for the Maryland Municipal League. “We feel this is a really well constructed balance between what we had before, which worked really well for us, and where the state is going.”
And disclosure of certain financial information, particularly that of elected officials who are small-business owners, could place politicians at a competitive business disadvantage, according to Gaithersburg City Councilman Jud Ashman.
Raskin said the government shouldn’t impose crippling administrative burdens on local officials, some of whom only work part-time.
