A look at the ethics agenda

(AP) – Gov. Bobby Jindal issued the formal agenda Friday for what can be included in a special legislative session he is calling to strengthen ethics laws. The “call” for the session that starts Sunday includes 60 items. Among the proposals before the Legislature:

• Require that lawmakers, statewide elected officials, executive branch department heads, local elected officials in districts with 5,000 people or more, members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, members of the Louisiana Board of Ethics and judges disclose information about how they earn their money.

• Increase financial disclosure for the governor.

• Prohibit lawmakers, their spouses and their businesses from entering into or renewing contracts with state government agencies, except during disasters declared by the governor.

• Prohibit statewide elected officials, legislators, their spouses and their businesses from receiving hurricane recovery related contracts.

• Prohibit lobbying by immediate family members of statewide elected officials, governor’s cabinet secretaries and lawmakers.

• Ban free tickets to sporting and cultural events for elected officials.

• Require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to make exceptions to the state ethics code.

• Require stricter reporting from lobbyists and require all filings to be posted online in a searchable database.

• Cap what lobbyists can spend to wine and dine lawmakers and other public officials to $50 per meal.

• Require annual ethics training for all public employees and lobbyists.

• Require that ethics complaints not warranting an investigation be dismissed and expunged.

• Require the referral of unpaid ethics fines to the attorney general for collection.

• Require the suspension of any public employee charged with a crime related to public office.

• Take away taxpayer-funded retirement benefits for any public officials convicted of a crime related to public office.

• Prohibit indicted lawmakers from serving on committees, subject to waiver by a two-thirds vote.

• Require all legislative hearings to be broadcast online and archived for three years.

• Create the inspector general’s office in state law.

• Expand whistleblower protection to prohibit threats of reprisals to public employees.

• Require third-party political ads to disclose the identity of the group sponsoring the ad, within the ad itself.

• Prohibit candidates for statewide and legislative offices from fundraising during regular legislative sessions.

• Require so-called “527” third-party political groups to disclose all contributors, donations and expenses.

• Prohibit those with outstanding ethics fines from qualifying to run for office.

• Require candidates to ask that their donors above $250 list the identity of their employers and include that information on campaign finance reports.