Representative Don Humason



ETHICS REFORM June 27, 2009 By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. In case you’re growing fatigued of all the “reform” bills coming out of Boston you can rest easy. This should be the last reform bill for awhile. Thus far in 2009 the House and Senate have passed Rules Reform, Transportation Reform, Pension Reform, and this Thursday, we passed an Ethics Reform bill 156-0. Before I talk about what the ethics legislation contains, I wanted to share my thoughts on why all these reforms have been necessary and why “reform” was suddenly so en vogue this year. Apologies to my many Democrat friends in Westfield, but I sincerely believe that much of the problem on Beacon Hill stems from a lack of a viable 2-party system at the State House. There is an overwhelming Democratic Majority in both branches of the Legislature. A Democrat holds the Governor’s office. Every Massachusetts Constitutional officer from Attorney General to Auditor to Secretary of State is a Democrat. All 10 of our US Congressmen and 2 United States Senators are Democrats. One party rule of the type we have in Massachusetts where Republicans like me make up only 10% of the Legislature (16 Republican Representatives out of 160 in the House. 5 Senators out of 40 in the state Senate) is dangerous. The foxes are guarding the chicken coop! “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” as the old saying goes. Republicans do our best but with such small numbers we’re not able to offer the checks and balances the founders felt were so important to our representative democracy form of government. I’m not saying that all Democrats are bad or that Republicans are immune from unethical behavior. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is a perfect example. But in our state, at least, it seems that most of the headlines highlight unethical behavior by members of the ruling party. Three indicted Democrat Speakers of the House in a row (Charlie Flaherty, Tom Finneran, and Sal DiMasi) is a hard statistic to top. Democrat Senator Dianne Wilkerson allegedly stuffing bribe money into her bra being caught on tape makes for vivid television. Numerous Democrat legislators have been featured in the news for failure to pay their state or local taxes, even as they vote to raise yours. It makes me sick. No legislator, Democrat or GOP, wants to be a member of a corrupt Legislature. And, as I’ve lamented in this column before, the public tends to paint all of us with the same brush. I don’t want to be stereotyped as an unethical legislator just because I serve in the one party capital of the country. Character counts or at least it should. I want to be judged by you, my constituents, on my honesty, integrity, and character. I swore an oath to uphold the state and national Constitutions. That oath matters to me. My word and reputation matter. At the end of my career in Massachusetts public service I won’t care if I’m not remembered as a great orator or statesman, or as the author of dozens of new laws. I will be content if I am remembered as a good, decent, hardworking guy who loved Westfield and did the very best he could representing his district in Boston. It seems to me that if you are by nature an ethical person you don’t need laws to tell you how to behave. And if you are by nature an unethical person no amount of laws will help. So now we have passed a new law, a new set of ethics reforms, governing the behavior of public employees and elected officials. There are many good and strong components of the bill which I support; however new laws will not change the political culture on Beacon Hill. The problem remains not one of laws, but of a culture of one party control and backroom deals. The Ethics Reform bill: · Includes a provision banning all gifts from lobbyists. · Provides the Attorney General with authority over education, training, and enforcement of the Open Meeting Law for state, local and regional authorities. · Substantially adopts the definitions of executive and legislative lobbying which includes any act to promote or oppose as well as any act to influence or attempt to influence. · Requires the Secretary of State to automatically disqualify an individual convicted of a felony of ethics, lobbying, or campaign finance laws from registering as a lobbyist for 10 years from the date of conviction. · Prohibits the use of campaign funds for the payment of fines, penalties, restitution or damages for ethics violations. · Requires monies gained through bribes and illegal activities to be reported as income for tax purposes. · Codifies the crime of obstruction of justice and institutes penalties of up to $10,000 and 5 years in prison (2 ½ years in a House of Corrections) if the proceeding involves a civil case, and penalties of up to $25,000 and 10 years in prison (2 ½ HOC) if the proceeding involves a criminal case. · Increases the maximum criminal penalty of $5,000 and 3 years in prison for giving or receiving a bribe to influence an official act, to a fine of up to $100,000 or up to 10 years in prison (2 ½ HOC) or both. · Increases the maximum criminal penalty for violating lobbying laws from $100 to $5,000, to a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 5 years in prison (2 ½ HOC) or both. · Increases the penalties for late filed campaign finance reports from $10 per day to a maximum of $2,500 total, to a fine of $25 per day and a maximum of $5,000. * * * Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Sarah Latour may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us Website: www.donhumason.org
This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group

ETHICS REFORM

June 27, 2009

By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.

In case you’re growing fatigued of all the “reform” bills coming out of Boston you can rest easy. This should be the last reform bill for awhile.

Thus far in 2009 the House and Senate have passed Rules Reform, Transportation Reform, Pension Reform, and this Thursday, we passed an Ethics Reform bill 156-0.

Before I talk about what the ethics legislation contains, I wanted to share my thoughts on why all these reforms have been necessary and why “reform” was suddenly so en vogue this year.

Apologies to my many Democrat friends in Westfield, but I sincerely believe that much of the problem on Beacon Hill stems from a lack of a viable 2-party system at the State House.

There is an overwhelming Democratic Majority in both branches of the Legislature. A Democrat holds the Governor’s office. Every Massachusetts Constitutional officer from Attorney General to Auditor to Secretary of State is a Democrat. All 10 of our US Congressmen and 2 United States Senators are Democrats.

One party rule of the type we have in Massachusetts where Republicans like me make up only 10% of the Legislature (16 Republican Representatives out of 160 in the House. 5 Senators out of 40 in the state Senate) is dangerous. The foxes are guarding the chicken coop!

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely” as the old saying goes. Republicans do our best but with such small numbers we’re not able to offer the checks and balances the founders felt were so important to our representative democracy form of government.

I’m not saying that all Democrats are bad or that Republicans are immune from unethical behavior. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is a perfect example. But in our state, at least, it seems that most of the headlines highlight unethical behavior by members of the ruling party.

Three indicted Democrat Speakers of the House in a row (Charlie Flaherty, Tom Finneran, and Sal DiMasi) is a hard statistic to top. Democrat Senator Dianne Wilkerson allegedly stuffing bribe money into her bra being caught on tape makes for vivid television. Numerous Democrat legislators have been featured in the news for failure to pay their state or local taxes, even as they vote to raise yours.

It makes me sick. No legislator, Democrat or GOP, wants to be a member of a corrupt Legislature. And, as I’ve lamented in this column before, the public tends to paint all of us with the same brush. I don’t want to be stereotyped as an unethical legislator just because I serve in the one party capital of the country.

Character counts or at least it should. I want to be judged by you, my constituents, on my honesty, integrity, and character. I swore an oath to uphold the state and national Constitutions. That oath matters to me. My word and reputation matter.

At the end of my career in Massachusetts public service I won’t care if I’m not remembered as a great orator or statesman, or as the author of dozens of new laws. I will be content if I am remembered as a good, decent, hardworking guy who loved Westfield and did the very best he could representing his district in Boston.

It seems to me that if you are by nature an ethical person you don’t need laws to tell you how to behave. And if you are by nature an unethical person no amount of laws will help.

So now we have passed a new law, a new set of ethics reforms, governing the behavior of public employees and elected officials. There are many good and strong components of the bill which I support; however new laws will not change the political culture on Beacon Hill. The problem remains not one of laws, but of a culture of one party control and backroom deals.

The Ethics Reform bill:

· Includes a provision banning all gifts from lobbyists.

· Provides the Attorney General with authority over education, training, and enforcement of the Open Meeting Law for state, local and regional authorities.

· Substantially adopts the definitions of executive and legislative lobbying which includes any act to promote or oppose as well as any act to influence or attempt to influence.

· Requires the Secretary of State to automatically disqualify an individual convicted of a felony of ethics, lobbying, or campaign finance laws from registering as a lobbyist for 10 years from the date of conviction.

· Prohibits the use of campaign funds for the payment of fines, penalties, restitution or damages for ethics violations.

· Requires monies gained through bribes and illegal activities to be reported as income for tax purposes.

· Codifies the crime of obstruction of justice and institutes penalties of up to $10,000 and 5 years in prison (2 ½ years in a House of Corrections) if the proceeding involves a civil case, and penalties of up to $25,000 and 10 years in prison (2 ½ HOC) if the proceeding involves a criminal case.

· Increases the maximum criminal penalty of $5,000 and 3 years in prison for giving or receiving a bribe to influence an official act, to a fine of up to $100,000 or up to 10 years in prison (2 ½ HOC) or both.

· Increases the maximum criminal penalty for violating lobbying laws from $100 to $5,000, to a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 5 years in prison (2 ½ HOC) or both.

· Increases the penalties for late filed campaign finance reports from $10 per day to a maximum of $2,500 total, to a fine of $25 per day and a maximum of $5,000.

* * *

Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Sarah Latour may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us Website: www.donhumason.org

This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group