: Blueprint Louisiana - To Fundamentally Improve Louisiana :

Adopt the Nation’s Best Ethics Laws

Legislation passed in the first special and regular legislative sessions will result in a state government that is more accountable to the people and more
transparent in its dealings than ever before. The state has earned an opportunity to begin wiping away, once and for all, longstanding national perceptions about Louisiana’s political environment.

Examining the four components of Blueprint’s ethics recommendations, we proudly report complete success.

Ethics Recommendation #1 Require financial disclosure from all legislators and
statewide elected officialHouse Bill 1 of the special session on ethics requires a
wide range of elected and appointed officials to file annual
reports of their personal financial information. Three reporting
tiers will cover statewide elected officials, a variety of high-ranking appointed positions in government, legislators, local officials and members of many boards and commissions.

HB 1 of the first extraordinary session of 2008 passed with only one dissenting vote by a House member, who did not sign the Blueprint contract during the 2007 election cycle. The legislation became Act No. 1 when signed by the governor and becomes effective on January 1, 2009.

Ethics Recommendation #2 Increase public access to the details of lobbyist activitiesSenate Bill 11 of the special session on ethics requires lobbyists to provide to the Louisiana Board of Ethics timely information on their client(s), payment for lobbying and subject matter(s) lobbied, and also requires lobbyists to file monthly expenditure reports electronically with the board.

SB 11 of the first extraordinary session of 2008 passed unanimously and with the support of many lobbyists. The legislation became Act No. 13 when signed by the governor and becomes effective on January 1, 2009.

Ethics Recommendation #3 Be transparent when allocating state funds for local projectsHouse Resolution 2, House Concurrent Resolution 6 and Senate Resolution 12 of the special session on ethics all established legislative rules for the required submission of information by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seeking state funding in appropriations or capital outlay bills.

The resolutions passed unanimously in both chambers.

In addition, during the regular session, a late amendment to House Bill 1182 put into Louisiana statutes much of what was adopted by legislative resolution in the ethics special session regarding NGOs and their requests for state funding. This process has already become more transparent than ever before as information submitted by NGOs for the 2008-09 state budget was available on the Internet. Such publicly-available information allows for a thorough review of proposed appropriations to NGOs.

Act No. 842 became effective when the governor signed HB 1182 on July 8, 2008.

Ethics Recommendation #4 Strengthen the Ethics Administration Program to train our leaders, prevent violations, and enforce Louisiana’s ethics lawsThe General Appropriations Bill in the regular session (funding state government from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009) included $2.1 million in additional funding for the Louisiana Board of Ethics to help implement the state’s new ethics laws.

HB 1 of the regular session was signed by the governor on July 13, 2008 and became Act No. 19.

Updates

SB 106/Act No. 842

Ethics Bill Signing - March 3, 2008

Time Well Spent: Blueprint Louisiana Cites Special Session Accomplishments

Ethics Reform Radio Commercial

Ethics Reform Print Ad

Ethics Agenda