Band-Aid approach to ethics reform

JUNEAU REPORT/Myrl Thompson

February 2, 2007

Editor's note: The following is excerpted from the weekly Juneau Report of Capitol watchdog Myrl Thompson.

&#8220The law doth punish man or woman

That steals the goose from off the common,

But lets the greater felon loose,

That steals the common from the goose.”

- Anonymous

It will happen and it will happen in our lifetime. Obviously, the climate in Alaska isn't the only thing that's getting hotter. The temperature has recently risen enough here at the Cap-itol to sprout a new flora.

Administrative agriculturalists, legislative farmers and citizen cultivators have come up with an innovative creation, the ethics plant. However not all agree as to what type of plant it is, a flowering bush, a fruit-bearing tree or a noxious weed.

The Palin administration made a bold move with the Ethics White Paper. It recommended sweeping changes in how public officials conduct business.

Also encouraged was the creation of a Governor's Ethics Commission. Twenty-three Alaskans who are not currently serving as public officials but who are well-versed in ethics matters were highly recommended for the commission. However, that idea crashed faster than 1929 stock prices.

At first, legislative leaders wanted little to do with administration help in the making of ethics legislation. Legislators had absolutely no affinity for a commission of ex-officials and citizens telling them how they should behave.

That idea seems to have been the first casualty of the intra-Capitol ethics war.

What we have now is a mixture of Senate, House and administration bills that will meld into some hodgepodge of moral standards. At last count there were some dozen ethics bills, ranging the spectrum from good to poor.

The Senate has been taking a go-it-alone, Band-Aid approach. Senators seem to think that incremental changes in a few places will suffice.

This method was not what Michael Josephson suggested. He is an ethics expert and director of the Josephson Institute on Ethics. He suggested an omnibus bill for the restructuring of a basically broken system.

Much like what the governor's White Paper suggested before it was promptly dumped.

The House has had a change of heart as of late. Lawmakers there have sent a large number of ethics bills to a subcommittee on ethics.

They plan to merge the ideas from some or all of these bills into a possibly more comprehensive bill. It's a box of Band-Aids approach.

The administration has responded in kind with a stretch Band-Aid bill. This bill has a fairly encompassing title that could be the vehicle for the rolling in of the other bills.

The end result may be less than what many Alaskans want. We will all have to wait for the final product and see just how serious legislators are at fixing a long overdue problem.

The public trust is a stake, and I can hardly think of a better reason to get over egos, image and partisan politics.

Oil and gas audits

The following information was pulled from the Division of Oil & Gas packet presented by acting director Kevin Banks last week. First of all, let me give you a little background.

Last session, Wasilla Rep. Vic Kohring had a bill in his Oil & Gas Committee to dramatically reduce the amount of interest the state charges the oil industry on shortages in revenue that we catch during audits of oil company figures. In testimony last session, it was pointed out that the vast majority of audits show the industry owing the state more money. When caught they must pay interest on those shortages.

Lucky for us, Kohring's bill failed to pass and the state saved bundles.

Audits happen on average only about every 45 days. The results of 12 state and federal audits during the past 18 months resulted in the collection of $2.1 million in additional revenue. Audit claims in the amount of 13 million are currently outstanding.

Floor absences

(13 days, through Jan. 28)

Rep. Vic Kohring-3, Rep. Carl Gatto-1, Rep. Mark Neuman-0, Rep. Bill Stoltze-0, Sen. Charlie Huggins-1, Sen. Lyda Green-0.

Valley resident Myrl Thompson is a citizen lobbyist and former independent candidate for state House. He writes a twice-monthly &#8220Capitol Watch” column for the Frontiersman. For information about receiving his weekly e-mailed Juneau Report, contact him at myrl@ak.net.