HARTFORD, CT – Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield) today welcomed Governor Rell’s leadership on a host of ethics reforms and said the Senate Republican Caucus stands ready to pass the proposals when the General Assembly meets in full session next week.

“Governor Rell along with Senate Republicans have made ethics reform a top priority this session,” said Senator McKinney.  “Today’s proposals will help restore public confidence in elected officials by, among other things, creating a criminal penalty for public officials who fail to report a bribe and giving judges the power to revoke or reduce the pensions of corrupt public officials and state employees.”

Senator McKinney and the Senate Republican Caucus will continue to fight for additional ethics reforms including a dual job ban that would prohibit legislators from also serving as municipal chief elected officials, establish new restrictions for state officials who lobby legislators, and create a Standing Committee on Ethics to deal with ethical violations and acts of official misconduct by members of the Senate.

“The Senate Republican Caucus continues to support the creation of a bicameral, bipartisan Standing Committee on Ethics,” said Senator McKinney.  “But short of reaching agreement across both legislative chambers, I again call on Senator Don Williams to join our caucus in establishing a Senate Standing Committee on Ethics.”

Senator McKinney said a Senate Committee on Ethics can be created by a simple amendment to Senate rules and does not require the approval of either the House or Governor.  According to the Office of Legislative Research, 41 state legislatures have designated committees to hear and investigate complaints alleging ethical or legislative rule violations committed by individual legislators.

“The Senate Republican Caucus stands in unanimous support of enacting these proposed ethics reforms and establishing a Senate Standing Committee on Ethics,” said Senator McKinney.

The proposed ethics reforms would:

• allow judges to reduce or revoke the pensions of public officials and state employees convicted of crimes related to their public office;
• establish a criminal penalty for elected officials who fail to report a bribe;
• prohibit state contractors from offering employment to a state employee who significantly participated in awarding contract;
• include the Governor’s spouse in the definition of “public official” for the purposes of the ethics code;
• make it illegal for the chiefs of staff of legislative caucuses and statewide elected officials to solicit campaign contributions from their respective staff members, and prohibit the chiefs of staff for the Governor and Lt. Governor to solicit campaign contributions from agency commissioners and deputy commissioners;
• strengthen FOIA laws by requiring meeting schedules and minutes to be posted to agency websites;
• prohibit ex parte communications between Office of State Ethics (OSE) employees who are investigating an ethics complaint and board members concerning the subject of the complaint; provide that OSE employees may issue subpoenas only after affirmative action by the board; and prohibit absentee voting by board members.
• limit gifts for major life events to $1000; and
• establish mandatory ethics training for all new legislators and refresher courses for all legislators every four years and/or after significant changes to the ethics code.