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The 2009 regular legislative session was the short version of a Louisiana Legislative Session, which lasts 60 calendar days and focuses primarily on fiscal issues. While development of the budget did dominate much of the debate this year, the fiscal focus was limited to ordinary approaches to budget cutting and put off for another year […]
Louisiana’s ethics code generally prohibits public servants from receiving things of economic value, barring certain exceptions. Past exceptions, such as free tickets to events and lavish wining and dining from special interest groups, fueled public perception that access to policy makers could be bought. As a result, exceptions such as these were eliminated or scaled […]
A recent change to the state’s ethics code will weaken the enforceability of the state’s ethics laws by making violations more difficult to prove. There have been no problems cited with the lesser burden of proof, which continues to be in effect until August 15. Rather, increasing the burden of proof seems to be an […]
The special legislative session that adjourned on Tuesday yielded an impressive set of reforms to the state’s ethics, campaign finance and other laws. Several long-resisted changes were enacted to disclose public officials’ personal financial dealings, forbid state officials from personally profiting through state contracts, eliminate many of the freebies officials have traditionally enjoyed, require more […]
The administration proposal to insert administrative law judges (ALJs) into the process of ruling on ethics violations would dilute the existing power of the Board of Ethics. While most of the ethics reform package is in line with previous PAR recommendations, this one raises some troubling questions that require additional research. There should be no […]
The state is poised for a big win for ethics reform. A bill to require legislators, statewide elected officials and local elected officials to report their income by source and range has nearly passed out of the Legislature. Successful passage of HB 730 would push Louisiana to become one of the top states in terms […]
“Governmental Ethics Laws in Louisiana: Public Trust or Private Gain?,” September 1995 (a collaborative report by the Bureau of Governmental Research and PAR) “White Paper on Governmental Ethics and Constitutional Revision,” September 2003