Hartford Business.com
May 17, 2008
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It is going to cost big bucks if state employees, public officials and lobbyists don’t comply with the state’s ethics law. There’s a new ethics director — Carol Carson — and she is making a splash by putting a financial bite behind ethics violations within her first four months on the job.
For example, Tracey Weeks, a state Department of Public Health employee was slapped with a $6,350 civil penalty because she didn’t disclose that her spouse, a registered sanitarian, was regulated by the state agency she worked for in 2004 and 2005. The state’s ethics rules require state employees to file disclosure statements regarding potential conflicts involving the financial interests of a spouse.
And consider Reginald Allard, a former training officer at the state Police Officer Standards and Training Council, whom the Office of State Ethics determined that violated state rules for using his state position to solicit private employment as an expert witness. Allard’s actions defied a 2002 staff opinion by the former State Ethics Commission. He agreed to pay a $27,825 settlement.
Carson, a former investigator for the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, said her philosophy is to make sure everyone — lobbyists, politicians and state officials — do their job the right way every day.
The revamped office has not shied away from levying fines or penalties. Since March, the office has cited two state employees, one lobbyist and 11 companies and organizations for various offenses.
Carson assumed the duties in December after Benjamin Bycel resigned under pressure from the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board, which gave him a negative assessment.
Lobbyists Notice
Lobbyists have taken notice of the change, said Marshall Collins, a registered lobbyist and former president of the Association of Connecticut Lobbyists.
“We’ve seen that a couple clients got fined, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens,” Collins said.
“If people don’t comply vigorously with the regulations, our agency is in a position to investigate,” Carson said. “Our enforcement actions have been frequent and it’s been busy in the past month.”
Lobbyists weren’t spared from fines either. Nine were fined between $260 and $620 for filing a quarterly report late. Just this week, lobbyist Maria Cahill was fined $430 for a similar offense.
And two larger organizations were hit this week for not filing registrations before starting lobbying efforts: the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut Inc. for $4,810 and the Connecticut Assisted Living Association for $5,025.
“For lobbyists that fail to register, the maximum penalties will be sought,” Carson said. “We are reaching out to lobbyists and we just want to get it right.”
Some of the changes at the ethics’ office are obvious. For example, before Carson’s arrival, the enforcement action summaries had not been updated on the commission’s web site for almost five years.
More Transparency
The enforcement actions of the past month were detailed in a press release, something foreign under the previous regime.
“We have a policy going forward that any time the Office of State Ethics takes action, any enforcement action will be announced in a release,” Carson said. “What we’re trying to do is create consistency so that people dealing with this agency know what to expect.”
Collins said he’s worked with the office’s auditors for the past two years and found them to be consistently helpful. He said he noticed there had been an emphasis on aiding and educating lobbyists.
“It’s a miserable position to be in, going through all the documents, but my personal experience has been very good,” Collins said. “I’m sure the people that got fined would have a different response. But it’s possible than any of us could miss one filing out of many, and they are willing to work with you.”
Collins said the office used to hold annual sessions on ethics.
Carson, on the other hand, has weekly face-to-face interactions with those who are required to file, as well as pre- and post-legislative meetings. And ethics staff members are frequently available at the Legislative Office Building, she said.
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