Ethics Proposal Dies In Legislature

By Jan Howard

A proposed ethics bill that was seen as a threat to local governments failed to gain the approval of the state legislature.

The bill would have required elected and appointed municipal officials to disclose all financial interests. A similar bill failed last year.

In February, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal had raised concerns that the bill, if approved, might affect the town’s ability to attract people to run for elected office or to volunteer on boards and commissions.

He told the Board of Selectmen that the bill would be the equivalent “to killing a fly with a shotgun.”

The failed legislation would have required every municipality to create an ethics commission with subpoena powers. It also would have required that all local elected and appointed officials fill out an affidavit that would be kept on file listing all financial interests, including the assets and debts of their spouses and dependent children, which would be subject to freedom of information inquiries.

Mr Rosenthal noted that the Town of Newtown has a Board of Ethics and a Code of Ethics that requires disclosure of conflicts of interest and addresses other issues. Under the failed legislation, a local code of ethics would have been required to be as strict as the state law.

Mr Rosenthal termed the bill as “overkill,” noting that while it would do nothing to stop an unethical or dishonest person from doing business as usual, it could make it difficult for honest people to serve the town.

He was particularly concerned about the bill’s definition of a public official, which he noted was “pretty broad.”