As ethics bill moves forward, watchdogs question contract 'loophole'
After receiving a warm reception at a committee hearing Wednesday, state Sen. Van Taylor’s ethics reform proposal could be the first bill approved by the Texas Senate this year.
Ethics watchdogs, however, are saying there is a major loophole in a section of the bill aimed at forcing elected officials to disclose whether they or their family members have contracts with local government entities. The bill requires lawmakers to disclose contracts that go to firms in which they have an at least 50 percent ownership stake, a threshold advocates say is far too high.
“We were kind of shocked to read ‘50 percent’ when we thought it would make sense to be 5 percent, and we’re hoping it was a typo,” Lon Burnam, a former state representative who works on ethics reform, said at a Senate State Affairs Committee hearing. “That bill as a whole is a great improvement, but that 50 percent is a loophole virtually. It’s putting into statute something that is utterly meaningless.”
Taylor’s Senate Bill 14 will receive a committee vote on Thursday and could be approved by the full Senate next week, Taylor said. Enough supporters have already signed on to guarantee its passage in the Senate, unless amendments on the floor change the dynamic.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/ethics-bill-moves-forward-watchdogs-question-contract-loophole/DKo2HADdwcuB6DuM24KSWK/