5Q: John Marion

 / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
/ PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

1 Ethics reform will make it to statewide voters in November, years after legislators were removed from Ethics Commission review. Why this year?

It was the convergence of a number of things. Common Cause has been out there pushing this since 2010, and early in this year’s legislative session, House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello committed to working on the issue. What really sped things along was the resignation of state Rep. Raymond Gallison [subject of an investigation by the FBI].

2 What power does the Ethics Commission have to investigate complaints?

Our Ethics Commission is one of the strongest in the country. Its jurisdiction extends to all three branches of government, as well as municipal officeholders. The commission can issue subpoenas and fine someone up to $25,000 per violation of the Code of Ethics.

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3 How would the commission decide if a complaint made in an election cycle was frivolous?

The Ethics Commission has a screening process for frivolous complaints. The executive director has three days to accept or decline a complaint. If it’s accepted, it becomes public and heads to the commissioners for an initial determination hearing, but if it’s declined, it’s not made public.

4 What difference does a stronger ethics expectation have for business?

There is some quantitative evidence that states with more public corruption have lower levels of job growth. Multiple studies show that for per capita convictions for corruption, Rhode Island ranks near the top. But perhaps more damaging for economic purposes are the reputational surveys where we don’t do well either. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said that on her recent business recruiting trip to California, she was being asked about the Gallison scandal. We can’t prove businesses avoid Rhode Island for this reason. But there is no way it helps.

5 What is the most important thing for voters to know about the change they’re being asked to make?

For the most part, what they’re being asked to do is return the Ethics Commission to where it was from 1986 to 2009, when it had full oversight of legislators. If they vote ‘Yes’ it won’t cost them more tax dollars, but it will make sure that members of the General Assembly have to abide by the same conflict-of-interest rules as all other public officials in Rhode Island. •

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