INDIANAPOLIS (AP)
- Indiana Inspector General David Thomas has published a series of ethics
reforms, asking for improved disclosure and new rules for state officials
after a trio of Statehouse scandals.
“This report is
intended to highlight the areas where the public integrity laws governing
the executive branch could be enhanced,” Thomas wrote in the 26-page
report. Thomas published the proposed legislation on the state’s website
late Wednesday.
Thomas, the
state’s top ethics investigator, called for mandatory disclosures if a
person leaves work with the state and forms a consulting firm working with
the state, better transparency from state contractors and clear
requirements on when state officials must recuse themselves when conflicts
of interest come up.
He also calls for
new rules on the use of waivers of the state’s one-year “cooling off”
period for state workers. A series of news investigations found that state
departments routinely granted waivers to workers without seeking advice
from the State Ethics Commission.
Thomas stopped
short of criticizing the state’s ethics laws or picking out any specific
case that exposed holes in the state’s laws. But earlier this year, during
a rare news conference, he outlined his concerns in the wake of an
investigation of former Indiana Department of Transportation Chief of
Staff Troy Woodruff.
Woodruff, who ran
the agency at the same time it purchased land from him and his family, was
officially cleared of any wrongdoing by both Thomas and state and federal
law enforcement. But Thomas determined that Woodruff walked “right up to
the line” of breaking the law with his actions and should have disclosed
his personal interest in the land sales.
Thomas has served
as the state’s inspector general since former Gov. Mitch Daniels created
the position in 2005, although he announced over the summer that he would
be stepping down to seek a job as a local prosecutor.
Thomas filed the
first ethics charges against a major public official last November, when
he charged former Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett with violating
ethics laws barring the use of public resources for political purposes.
State investigators spent the following months gathering information on
Bennett. But Bennett’s defense team negotiated a settlement with the state
that avoided a public hearing and resulted in Bennett being fined $5,000.
Thomas’ call for
tougher ethics laws comes as House leaders are looking at their own
reforms. House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, has said ethics
reforms will be a top priority for lawmakers in the coming session.
Bosma removed
Rep. Eric Turner from his leadership team this year after an Associated
Press investigation uncovered Turner’s financial stake in a proposed ban
on nursing home construction considered last session.
A Bosma
spokeswoman said he’ll “take into consideration” Thomas’ recommendations.