Legislators would not be able to accept sports tickets or individual meals from State House lobbyists under an ethics reform bill passed by House and Senate committees yesterday.
Under both versions of the legislation, lawmakers would also have to meet annually with the General Assembly's ethics adviser in an attempt to avoid ethical missteps.
Meeting separately, the House Commerce and Government Matters Committee and the Senate Economic Environmental Affairs Committee approved the legislation amid grumbling from lawmakers that some of its provisions are unnecessary or cumbersome.
"Here is a presumption that everybody in the legislature is trying to pick up a phantom job," said Del. Michael V. Dobson, a Baltimore Democrat, referring to a provision that would restrict lawmakers' employment with state or local governments. "That bothers me a lot."
Both panels unanimously passed versions of the bill after making what legislative advocates said were relatively minor changes. The full House and Senate are expected to take up the bill next week.
The legislation was drafted by a study commission headed by Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin in the wake of last year's expulsion of a state senator and the forced resignation of a delegate for ethics violations.
The pending legislation is the first major reform of state ethics laws in 20 years.
Although key legislators had discussed the need to significantly weaken the Cardin commission's bill last month, most of the major planks of the commission's measure remained intact yesterday.
Under both versions of the bill, a lobbyist would be prohibited from purchasing meals for individual legislators -- a time-honored practice in the capital that has drawn increasing criticism from watchdog groups and the public.
The bill also seeks to tighten the rules governing legislators who find they have a conflict of interest on legislation, a murky area in current law. The legislation approved by both committees would prohibit legislators from voting on bills that might have a "direct and personal" financial impact on the lawmaker, his family or employer.
The legislation also seeks to stem the practice of legislators asking registered lobbyists for gifts to their favored charities. While the Senate panel retained the ban on the solicitations, the House committee would allow them when the legislature is not in session.
The House and Senate committees moved to weaken the Cardin commission's proposed ban on outside government employment.
The House panel would allow a legislator to take a job with state or local government, as long as it was approved by the ethics committee. The Senate version would allow the legislator to take only civil-service jobs, not political appointments.
Pub Date: 3/06/99