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Bill Felkner - Project Coordinator
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From The CleanRI.Org Website ....
In 1986 voters approved the following changes to the RI Constitution.
R.I. Constitution – Art. 3, Sec. 7
“Ethical conduct. -- The people of the State of Rhode Island believe that public officials and employees must adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct, respect the public trust and the rights of all persons, be open, accountable and responsive, avoid the appearance of impropriety and not use their position for private gain or advantage. Such persons shall hold their positions during good behavior.”
R.I. Constitution – Art. 3, Sec. 8
“Ethics commission – Code of ethics. -- The general assembly shall establish an independent non-partisan ethics commission which shall adopt a code of ethics including, but not limited to, provisions on conflicts of interest, confidential information, use of position, contracts with government agencies and financial disclosure. All elected and appointed officials and employees of state and local government, of boards, commissions and agencies shall be subject to the code of ethics. The ethics commission shall have the authority to investigate violations of the code of ethics and to impose penalties, as provided by law; and the commission shall have the power to remove from office officials who are not subject to impeachment.”
Several complaints were filed with the Ethic Commission by Operation Clean Government (OCG) against legislators they believed had violated the Code of Ethics. Three such legislators were House Majority Leader Gerard Martineau, Senator John Celona, and Senate President William Irons who OCG believed were blocking pharmacy legislation, an action beneficial to companies the legislators had financial relationships with.
In 2006, Senator Celona plead guilty to the RI Ethics Commission paying a fine of $130,000 and eventually serving prison time on a federal conviction.
In 2007, Representative Martineau also plead guilty and went to federal prison.
Senate President Irons received over $70,000 in insurance commissions from one of those companies and did not disclose that income in campaign finance reports. Along with Celona and Martineau, Irons work as a legislator was beneficial to those companies.
Irons tried to negotiate a settlement with the Ethics Commission but one could not be reached, so he sued the Commission using an obscure "speech in debate" clause in the RI Constitution which he claimed made him immune to prosecution by the Ethics Commission.
Three judges agreed.
R.I. Constitution – Art. 6, Sec. 5
Immunities of general assembly members. -- The persons of all members of the general assembly shall be exempt from arrest and their estates from attachment in any civil action, during the session of the general assembly, and two days before the commencement and two days after the termination thereof, and all process served contrary hereto shall be void. For any speech in debate in either house, no member shall be questioned in any other place.
According to the court’s decision, in order for the Ethics Commission to have oversight authority over legislative actions that the court ruled are protected by the speech-in-debate clause, they need to explicitly modify that section of the constitution.
The Supreme Court’s opinion states that the speech-in-debate immunity, “could be modified (or even obviated) by a sufficient explicit constitutional amendment – but we perceive no such explicitness in the language of the 1986 Ethics Amendment. If the citizens of Rhode Island wish to empower the Ethics Commission to investigate and prosecute legislators with respect to their legislative actions, notwithstanding the operation of the speech in debate clause, they most certainly have the power to do so,"
In 1986 the people voted for legislative oversight. In 2009 a legal loophole took it away. Now the people will take it back.
In 1986 voters approved the following changes to the RI Constitution.
R.I. Constitution – Art. 3, Sec. 7
“Ethical conduct. -- The people of the State of Rhode Island believe that public officials and employees must adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct, respect the public trust and the rights of all persons, be open, accountable and responsive, avoid the appearance of impropriety and not use their position for private gain or advantage. Such persons shall hold their positions during good behavior.”
R.I. Constitution – Art. 3, Sec. 8
“Ethics commission – Code of ethics. -- The general assembly shall establish an independent non-partisan ethics commission which shall adopt a code of ethics including, but not limited to, provisions on conflicts of interest, confidential information, use of position, contracts with government agencies and financial disclosure. All elected and appointed officials and employees of state and local government, of boards, commissions and agencies shall be subject to the code of ethics. The ethics commission shall have the authority to investigate violations of the code of ethics and to impose penalties, as provided by law; and the commission shall have the power to remove from office officials who are not subject to impeachment.”
Several complaints were filed with the Ethic Commission by Operation Clean Government (OCG) against legislators they believed had violated the Code of Ethics. Three such legislators were House Majority Leader Gerard Martineau, Senator John Celona, and Senate President William Irons who OCG believed were blocking pharmacy legislation, an action beneficial to companies the legislators had financial relationships with.
In 2006, Senator Celona plead guilty to the RI Ethics Commission paying a fine of $130,000 and eventually serving prison time on a federal conviction.
In 2007, Representative Martineau also plead guilty and went to federal prison.
Senate President Irons received over $70,000 in insurance commissions from one of those companies and did not disclose that income in campaign finance reports. Along with Celona and Martineau, Irons work as a legislator was beneficial to those companies.
Irons tried to negotiate a settlement with the Ethics Commission but one could not be reached, so he sued the Commission using an obscure "speech in debate" clause in the RI Constitution which he claimed made him immune to prosecution by the Ethics Commission.
Three judges agreed.
R.I. Constitution – Art. 6, Sec. 5
Immunities of general assembly members. -- The persons of all members of the general assembly shall be exempt from arrest and their estates from attachment in any civil action, during the session of the general assembly, and two days before the commencement and two days after the termination thereof, and all process served contrary hereto shall be void. For any speech in debate in either house, no member shall be questioned in any other place.
According to the court’s decision, in order for the Ethics Commission to have oversight authority over legislative actions that the court ruled are protected by the speech-in-debate clause, they need to explicitly modify that section of the constitution.
The Supreme Court’s opinion states that the speech-in-debate immunity, “could be modified (or even obviated) by a sufficient explicit constitutional amendment – but we perceive no such explicitness in the language of the 1986 Ethics Amendment. If the citizens of Rhode Island wish to empower the Ethics Commission to investigate and prosecute legislators with respect to their legislative actions, notwithstanding the operation of the speech in debate clause, they most certainly have the power to do so,"
In 1986 the people voted for legislative oversight. In 2009 a legal loophole took it away. Now the people will take it back.
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