gold-standard.jpg

Governor Bobby Jindal has been talking about the “gold standard” for ethics in LA. That’s tough talk.

Recently, it was revealed by the Heh, Heh, Heh, State Ethics Board that, while running for governor, Jindal failed to comply with the State Campaign Disclosure Law.

I’ve gone through some of Governor Jindal’s campaign material to see what he proposes as the “gold standard” of ethics for others and attempted to apply them to Jindal’s own transgression of the law.

The following in bold was excerpted from the governor’s website: http://bobbyjindal.com/issues/Jindal_Ethics_Pressrelease.pdf

1. Legislators will have to give full financial disclosure. There will be no exceptions and no loopholes.

According the Heh, Heh, Heh, Ethics Board, Governor Jindal failed to disclose over $100,000 in contributions.

Apparently leges must fully disclose, but governors don’t.

2. Do not do the crime if you cannot do the time. Breaking the rules will result in expulsion and criminal proceedings.

Strong words. Lucky for Jindal since currently there are no criminal penalties in the law.

3. Strong penalties should be automatically incurred in any instance of deceptive reporting. Increase penalties for fraudulent or incomplete reports and registrations.

Jindal says he will pay the maximum fine of $2,500 from his campaign fund which is where he failed to report the money. In other words, failing to report over $100,000 warrants a $2,500 fine.

Strong penalty??

Is it really a penalty if someone else pays one’s fine?

Jindal’s own advisory committee on ethics recommended that payment from one’s campaign fund not be allowed. Apparently, Jindal plans on paying the fine before he imposes that restriction on everyone else.

4. Make all ethics filings immediately available on the Internet. Citizens should be able to immediately access and search all information pertaining to an ethics filing or disclosure report upon its filing.

The expenditures occurred last June. The public learned of them this week. Perhaps “immediate” is a relative term.

5. Ensure that all state employees and officials understand that ignorance of the ethics code and its provisions is never a valid excuse for noncompliance.

“We are not trying to deny anything,” [William} Potter said. “It’s an error.” Baton Rouge Advocate, January 25, 2008.

Potter said the initial indication was that it was an independent expenditure by the party which only the party would be responsible for reporting. Ibid

Apparently ignorance of the law or the failure to follow the law is an appropriate defense for Jindal, but not for all other public servants.

6. I will have a high standard for performance and a zero-tolerance for ethical lapses by my administrative appointments.

Potter said Teepell, who was Jindal’s campaign chief, failed to notify those preparing the campaign finance report of the party expenditures for Jindal. (emphasis mine) Ibid.

So, what happens to Teepell?

High standards for all

I’m all for high ethical standards. What I don’t support is selective standards. If Governor Jindal is going to talk the talk, he needs to walk the walk, starting with his own office.

C.B.