PAR releases recommendations to improve ethics, campaign finance compliance

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana today released a 39-page report containing 14 recommendations to encourage better compliance with ethics and campaign finance laws, as well as improve enforcement of them. Several of PAR’s recommendations support concepts in proposed legislation in the current session, including the right of the Board of Ethics to appeal unfavorable decisions by the newly created Ethics Adjudicatory Board panels. In limited circumstances, PAR says, the adjudicatory process should allow for the suspension of the time period required for the Board of Ethics to bring charges in a case. PAR also recommends the law should be clarified to distinguish the roles of the various oversight and adjudicatory bodies to define key terms that currently are ambiguous. The recommendations include refinements to the systemic changes that were made to the Code of Governmental Ethics in 2008, as well as other reforms PAR sees as needed, including an improved definition for the “personal use” of political campaign funds. Take a look at the complete “Toward Stronger Ethics: The Next Steps Forward for Louisiana’s Ethics and Campaign Finance Laws” report here.