When lawmakers are trusted with their own ethical oversight, corruption and self-interest take over

by John Bossange

It was Supreme Court Justice William Brandeis who gave us the now classic statement: “Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants.” That quote appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 1913, and it still has great merit today. Then as now, people tend to perform to a better standard when they know their behavior is being observed. Justice Brandeis was, of course, referring to the natural tendency of individuals and organizations to avoid too much transparency and protect themselves from unwanted scrutiny and criticism, especially in the public sector.

In the political arena, the lack of transparency remains a serious issue and can easily prevent fair and honest governmental operations. Make no mistake about it: Montpelier is not immune from this lack of sunshine and transparency. We are not yet a Washington DC or an Albany, NY “swamp,” but we have become a wetlands, where required transparency explicitly spelled out in strong legislative ethics regulations is severely lacking in our Vermont’s House of Representatives and Senate.

I discovered this first hand when I joined a diverse group of Vermonters who filed an ethics complaint focused on a potential conflict of interest. We used the form from the Vermont Ethics Commission which clearly spelled out the definition of a conflict of interest or the appearance of one. It was a comprehensive form that required detailed and expansive documentation.

Unfortunately, we discovered that the Ethics Commission is not allowed to investigate citizen complaints filed against members who are serving in our state’s legislature. Today there are no outside, impartial ethical guidelines overseeing “core legislative functions.” For Vermonters like us, we were never informed why there was no investigation of our complaint or what standards were used to dismiss our concerns. Worse, when we asked for an explanation, we were met with total silence from the Senate leadership, relevant committee chairs and their members.

We also discovered that an in-house Senate Ethics Committee, composed of their colleagues, controls that critical component of oversight and no action has been taken in years. Consequently, our House and Senate members can more easily craft legislation and develop policies without concern for an independent agency watching for potential conflicts of interests from personal or private connections, and they can operate under the influence of campaign donations and lobbyists.

This continues to be a recipe for disaster. When the public begins to wonder why bills are created and who benefits from them, that lack of required transparency leads directly to a loss of trust and confidence that our elected officials are representing all Vermonters. The failure of the Senate’s Ethics Committee to enforce transparent standards so Vermonters can understand what and who should oversee “core legislative functions” has been a long-standing concern. That concern is a real threat to our state’s proud tradition of local representative democracy.

Fortunately, this is not the case with the hundreds of municipal workers who serve in our Vermont communities. These hard-working Vermonters are governed by the larger Vermont State Ethics Commission, which recently expanded their Municipal Code of Ethics and their powers of oversight. Subject to their code of ethics will be select board members and quasi-judicial bodies, clerks, treasurers, assessors, mayors, department heads, chief administrative officers, planning commissioners, city and town managers, road, cemetery and water commissioners, advisory budget committee members, auditors, building inspectors, tax collectors, and village or town trustees.

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Sadly and inexcusably, in Vermont’s House and Senate the foxes will continue to watch over the hen house and allow only as much sunshine and transparency as they feel necessary. Like the rest of us, our legislators would perform to a better standard if they knew those who elected them were able to observe their behavior and actions. The failure of the Senate Ethics Committee to create an outside agency composed of both elected representatives and other qualified officials appointed by the Governor will continue to erode the public’s trust in government. For someone looking for a reason not to vote or to be cynical about representative democracy and effective government, this Senate Committee has provided a perfect pathway.

Our democracy survives only when the sun shines and transparency becomes the norm. Doubt breeds a lack of trust and confidence that we are being truly represented. That’s not in the best interest of Vermonters and in the long run, in our ability to govern ourselves. We can’t afford to have legislators operate under the cover of darkness, and become a legislative swamp of unknown special favors and hidden motives.

Given that we have a part time legislature, it is understandably filled with retired workers and those with more flexible schedules. But that does not make our Senators and House members immune from adhering to strict, transparent ethical standards for their core legislative functions.

The solution is clear and staring us in the face. The Vermont Ethics Commission operates independently from the municipal employees it oversees, and has the structure of guidelines and experience for the Senate Ethics Committee to create a similar approach to addressing potentially unethical behaviors during core legislative functions. What’s stopping them from moving forward? There are no more excuses. Vermonters like us deserved better. Immediate and decisive action by our leadership is needed to address this urgent matter.