Yes, no, maybe so: why are ethics laws different?

AuthorWilson, Ethan
PositionETHICS

Every day, lawmakers carefully study topics and introduce legislation important to their state, their constituency and their party. From energy and education to health care and immigration, legislators create or eliminate policies that affect others.

But with ethics laws, elected officials legislate from the inside in. They create and introduce legislation that will directly affect them.

From financial disclosures and gift restrictions to conflicts of interest and cooling-off periods, these ethics laws are aimed at legislators--not the public they represent. The direct effect is a set of laws that is both created by, and imposed on, the legislative members themselves.

In almost any other circumstance, this would be considered a conflict of interest. But because of the importance of ethics laws, and the constitutional safeguard of separation of powers, the public not only allows this kind of direct-effect legislation, it often enthusiastically promotes it.

To be sure, legislating an effective and popular ethics framework is no easy task. The idea of limiting conflicts of interest, increasing financial disclosures and decreasing overall privacy for elected officials is complicated by the fact that many of our nation's governing bodies...

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