Up to here with corruption
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GOVERNOR PATRICK'S task force on public integrity handed the Legislature a gift-wrapped package back on Jan. 6: a comprehensive ethics reform bill that would beef up the state's conflict-of-interest laws, impose harsh penalties for corruption, and strengthen the hand of enforcement agencies. The next day, sleep-walking House members voted overwhelmingly to reelect Salvatore DiMasi to the speaker's post despite the gathering ethics storm around him. DiMasi, who would resign just weeks later, was indicted Tuesday in federal court on corruption charges. And lawmakers are still juggling an ethics bill.
The public has seen more than enough of business as usual on Beacon Hill, where evidence of payoffs can wind up everywhere from the undergarments of former state senator Dianne Wilkerson to the e-mail messages of DiMasi's cronies. Federal prosecutors allege that DiMasi and his pals scooped up thousands of dollars for rigging a state contract on behalf of a Canadian software company,
Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo issued a group statement Wednesday pledging that a legislative conference committee would pass a bill with "the best provisions from all three of our proposals." But the governor's original bill is stronger in key areas than anything crafted later in the House and Senate. Only Patrick's bill unambiguously prohibits gifts to public officials because of their official positions. Only Patrick's bill would allow state investigators to seek judicial approval to record conversations in corruption cases. Only Patrick's bill would require quarterly instead of bi-annual reporting of lobbyist activity. And the Senate bill is actually a step backward insofar as it would weaken the clout of the state Ethics Commission.
The public wants what it deserves: genuine ethics reform.
