Summary of proposed ethics overall

Released this afternoon by Governor Deval Patrick's office:

Tougher Penalties
• Increase the maximum punishment for bribery to $100,000 and 10 years imprisonment. The current penalty is up to $5,000 and three years imprisonment.
• Increase the maximum penalties for conflict of interest law violations involving gifts and gratuities, revolving door violations, and other abuses to $10,000 and five years imprisonment. Currently, penalties are up to $3,000 and two years imprisonment.
• Increase penalties for a civil violation of the conflict of interest laws from up to $2,000 per violation to up to $10,000 per violation. For bribery, the civil penalty would increase to $25,000.
• Increase the civil penalty for a violation of the financial disclosure law from $2,000 per violation to $10,000 per violation.
• Increase the criminal penalty for violating registration-related lobbying rules to up to $10,000 and five years imprisonment. Currently, offenses are a misdemeanor punishable by not less than $100 and not more than $5,000, with no possibility of imprisonment.
• Grant the secretary of state authority to suspend or permanently revoke a legislative or executive agent’s license.

Stronger Lobbying Laws
• Define lobbying to include strategizing, preparing, and planning related to a communication with a public official for the purpose of influencing legislative or executive policy.
• Expand the revolving door provision to apply to members of the executive branch.
• Reduce the amount of allowable incidental lobbying from 50 hours in each six-month reporting period to 10 hours in each three-month reporting period.

Expanded Enforcement Authority
• Make compliance with the Ethics Commission’s summons mandatory.
• Grant the Ethics Commission rule-making authority to implement the ethics laws.
• Increase the amount of time the Ethics Commission can proceed on an ethics violation from three years to five years.
• Grant the secretary of state rule-making authority to implement the lobbying laws.
• Give the secretary of state authority to impose fines and to have the
same civil enforcement authority over lobbying violations as the Ethics Commission has over ethics violations.
• Give the attorney general concurrent jurisdiction with the Ethics Commission to enforce civil violations of the conflict of interest laws.

Significant Investigative and Enforcement Tools
• Expand law enforcement authority to record conversations in public corruption investigations. Current law requires that cases involve organized crime.
• Impose penalties for a new statutory obstruction of justice offense.
• Authorize the convening of a statewide grand jury with jurisdiction extending throughout the Commonwealth.

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