EDITORIAL CURBING CORRUPTION THE CHALLENGE BEFORE THE L.A. ETHICS COMMISSION.FOR the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Ethics Commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law to discourage dishonest practices by their public employees and elected officials. Almost all American states have such a commission. , the task of fighting corruption and influence peddling influence peddling n. The practice of using one's influence with persons in authority to obtain favors or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. influence peddler n. in City Hall must seem overwhelming. Any time the ethics police open the door to usher one rascal out, five more come pouring in. That's the sad lesson that comes from all past attempts at campaign-finance reform: Create a new rule, and the crooks will find a way to break or get around it. But after years of ineffectively slapping the wrists of individual offenders, the commission finally seems to be taking a tougher, more systemic approach - one that realizes there are few if any honest folks in City Hall, and so all require the strictest scrutiny. Last week, the panel backed a few new measures designed to make relations a little less cozy See COSE. between elected officials and their sugar-daddy lobbyists, usually referred to as influence peddlers. Chief among them was a reform that would require lobbyists to disclose their fund-raising efforts on behalf of elected officials - providing some much-needed transparency to city government. Another measure would bar officials from acting on issues involving lobbyists who served as consultants or fund-raisers for their campaigns within the last year. Both ideas are promising. There's a revolving door between the lobbyists and political operatives in City Hall. Council members who feel indebted to their fund-raisers and consultants often have a hard time saying no when they come back as lobbyists asking for a favorable vote. The danger is in the loopholes. Take the recusal recusal n. the act of a judge or prosecutor being removed or voluntarily stepping aside from a legal case due to conflict of interest or other good reason. (See: recuse) rule. Under the commission's current language, a City Council member could still vote on a measure - even if one of the lobbyists involved had recently raised him or her money - by first returning the funds. But there's nothing stopping the council member from getting the money back as soon as the vote is cast. These are the pitfalls the Ethics Commission must face. Where there's a loophole An omission or Ambiguity in a legal document that allows the intent of the document to be evaded. Loopholes come into being through the passage of statutes, the enactment of regulations, the drafting of contracts or the decisions of courts. , the influence peddlers will drive a truck right through it. The commissioners' efforts to rein in to check the speed of, or cause to stop, by drawing the reins. to cause (a person) to slow down or cease some activity; - to rein in is used commonly of superiors in a chain of command, ordering a subordinate to moderate or cease some activity deemed excessive. See also: Rein Rein City Hall are worthwhile and admirable. But it won't be easy, and they must be vigilant and uncompromising. |
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