GOVERNOR’S TASK FORCE ON PUBLIC INTEGRITY
Summary of Recommendations
ENHANCEMENT OF ETHICS
LAWS & ETHICS
COMMISSION AUTHORITY
• Provide Commission with authority
to promulgate rules and regulations
• Authorize issuance of mandatory
summonses by Commission
• Increase statute of limitations from
three to five years
• Prohibit gifts given for or because of
an official position and authorize
Commission to promulgate
regulations defining “substantial
value”
• Allow Commission to recover up to
$25,000 of economic gain/restitution,
without filing a separate lawsuit
• Authorize Commission to penalize
false claims by government
employees
• Permit Commission to share
information with OIG, AG, Secretary
of State, and Office of Campaign and
Political Finance
• Guarantee Commission an annual
base budget
I. ENHANCEMENT OF RULES AND
AUTHORITY
ENHANCEMENT OF LOBBYING
LAWS AND SECRETARY OF
STATE AUTHORITY
• Add definition of “lobbying”
• Expand “revolving door” restrictions
to executive branch
• Lower incidental lobbying to 10
hours or $2,500 per 3 month period
• Close loophole to apply reporting
requirements to unregistered
lobbyists
• Require quarterly reporting
• Enhance information to be reported
by lobbyists
• Improve searchable online database
of lobbying activity
• Provide Secretary of State with
rulemaking authority to implement
lobbying laws and authority to issue
confidential, binding advisory
opinions
• Expand Secretary of State’s authority
to enforce lobbying laws
ENHANCED AUTHORITY OF
ATTORNEY GENERAL
• Provide Attorney General with
concurrent civil enforcement
authority to enforce conflict of
interest laws
• Provide Attorney General with civil
enforcement authority for violations
of lobbying laws
• Allow recording of conversations
with judicial approval in corruption
investigations
• Impose criminal penalties for
fraudulent violations of the standards
of conduct of 5 years imprisonment,
$10,000, or both
• Create penalties for obstruction of
justice, including destruction of
evidence
• Permit Attorney General to convene
statewide public corruption grand
juries
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 GOVERNOR’S TASK FORCE ON PUBLIC INTEGRITY
II. ENHANCED PENALTIES
Conflict of Interest Violations
• Increase criminal penalty up to10
years imprisonment, $100,000 fine,
or both for bribery
• Increase criminal penalties up to 5
years imprisonment, $10,000 fine, or
both for violations of conflict of
interest laws
• Increase civil penalty up to $25,000
per violation for bribery
• Increase civil penalties up to $10,000
for other violations of the conflict of
interest laws
Financial Disclosure Violations
• Impose criminal penalty up to 5 years
imprisonment, $10,000, or both for
willfully making material false
statements in an SFI or Ethics
Commission proceeding
• Increase penalties up to $10,000 per
financial disclosure law violation
Summary of Recommendations
Lobbying Violations
• Increase late filing penalties to
$50/day for first 20 days and $100
per day thereafter
• Increase criminal penalties for
registration violations up to 5 years
imprisonment, $10,000, or both
• Allow the Secretary of State, upon
cause shown, to suspend or revoke
lobbyists’ licenses
• Increase lobbyist gift restriction
penalty up to 5 years imprisonment,
$10,000 or both, and remove
inconsistent $100 gift prohibition
III. MANDATORY EDUCATION
AND TRAINING
• Make a summary of conflict of
interest laws available online and
require annual acknowledgement by
all public employees
• Require all public employees to
complete online ethics training
bi-annually
• Require all municipalities to certify a
liaison to the Commission
• Require all lobbyists to take an
annual certification course