By Ida Brown / senior staff writer
May 12, 2008 12:38 am
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An Ethics Reform bill to be signed into law today by Governor Haley Barbour not only will be historic, but also will strengthen the state's current ethics laws, according to several state officials.
"Over the past several years, we have had some of the weakest ethics laws in the country," said Sen. Terry Burton, who represents Lauderdale, Newton and Scott counties.
"We've had an ethics committee, but they didn't have a whole lot of enforcement authority," Burton said.
Authored by Sen. Merle Flowers, who represents DeSoto County, the bill is described by Flowers as the most sweeping, comprehensive Ethics Reform legislation adopted in the past 30 years.
“We opened up the halls of government from the courthouse to the Capitol," he said. "The citizens of Mississippi will now have easier access to public records, help with adjudicating public meeting violations, and more accountability for public officials who violate conflict of interest and ethics reporting requirements. Hopefully, this legislation will help restore the public trust of elected officials in Mississippi, given all of the recent judicial bribery scandals that occurred across our state.”
Burton, who co-authored the bill, said it will also provide safeguards against nepotism and cronyism in government jobs.
Representative Greg Snowden, who represents Lauderdale and Clarke counties, said by 2010 accessibility of public records will be even easier to citizens as they will be available online.
"Currently, you have to go the Ethics Commission and ask for a copy, and they have to identify who you are ... it's kind of cumbersome," Snowden said. "But by 2010, that will be all available online and you won't have to ask anybody's permission."
Gov. Barbour and Sen. Flowers will hold a joint press conference at the bill signing, which will take place in the Governor’s office.
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