June 26, 2009 — Press Release
BOSTON — Thursday night, Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) joined her colleagues in passing landmark legislation that strengthens current ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws, enhancing the integrity of the political process and helping to restore public trust. This completes an historic cycle of legislative reform, which includes recent approval of landmark pension and transportation reforms. The consensus bill not only bans gifts to public officials, but also increases the authority of the Ethics Commission to investigate and prosecute alleged ethics violations.
"I am proud to have contributed to these landmark reform bills in my first session," said Benson. "The public needs to know that we are serious about ethics in the legislature, and this bill goes a long way in restoring public trust in our state government."
The legislation bans all gifts to public officials and provides the Ethics Commission with enhanced investigatory power to do its work, including enhanced subpoena power, expanded regulatory authority and an increased statute of limitations. Additionally, the bill allows the commission to impose heftier civil sanctions by increasing penalties for all ethics laws violations.
The legislation redefines "lobbyist" as anyone paid to promote, oppose or influence, or to attempt to influence the decision of any officer or employee of the executive or legislative branch and requires strict performance rules for lobbyists including registration with the Secretary of State, annual training and detailed reporting. The bill, however, protects civic-minded citizens and non-profits from the strictest reporting requirements.
The bill also targets reform of our campaign finance system, eliminating all "special committee" arrangements between a state political party and an elected official, allowing only individual contributions up to $5,000 to a political party. Furthermore, the bill prohibits individuals from making committee checks payable to themselves or using campaign funds to pay fines brought about by ethics violations.
