"These proposals could be a productive step forward by adding clarity and better administration to the process of handling cases."
The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana says it welcomes Gov. Bobby Jindal's announcement that a legislative package is being produced to clarify the sweeping ethics reforms laws passed shortly after the governor began his first term - reforms that have since been widely criticized for making ethics enforcement toothless and creating confusion as to which agencies are responsible for investigating and enforcing ethics laws and penalizing scofflaws.
"These proposals could be a productive step forward by adding clarity and better administration to the process of handling cases," PAR President Robert Travis Scott says in a press release announcing the non-partisan group's qualified support. Scott says PAR staff members are completing an examination of existing laws and will soon release a report with findings and recommendations.
Citing administration spokesman Frank Collins, The Times-Picayune reports:
The package will include enhancing enforcement of state campaign finance laws by spelling out that the state Board of Ethics is the body that enforces campaign finance laws and the Ethics Adjudicatory Board hears the cases. The legislation is designed to clarify the roles of the agencies charged with prosecution and enforcement of campaign finance laws
"We look forward to the opportunity to see the actual legislation that will be filed and to assist the public and policymakers throughout the process by providing information and perspectives about these important matters," Scott adds.
Read more here.