Lawmakers review state ethics panel

CARSON CITY - Legislators are questioning whether Nevada's ethics panel is too aggressive and has overstepped constitutional bounds while investigating claims of political chicanery.

The concerns were raised Tuesday as the Assembly Ways and Means Committee focused on the state Ethics Commission's new legal duty to look into complaints about politicians lying about opponents during campaigns.

"Should the Ethics Commission be in that business?" asked Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, adding that the law forces the commission to rule on foolish statements made by candidates.

Giunchigliani is leading efforts to repeal a so-called "truth in campaigning" law passed by the 1997 Legislature. She has cited a $5,000 fine the commission imposed on Assemblyman Bob Beers for statements in a campaign mailing about a Republican primary opponent, Dennis Silvers.

While the statements weren't false, commissioners ruled that they improperly suggested Silvers, a radio talk show host, could have been culpable in a restaurant arson fire that killed 66 pets in a nearby animal shelter.

But the head of the Ethics Commission said her organization is just doing what lawmakers ordered in expanding the panel's duties two years ago to include reviews of questionable campaign statements.

"If someone is in that business, it ought to be us. We're the most removed and so we're the logical people," said Mary Boetsch, the panel's chairwoman.

Committee members also voiced concerns that the law may amount to a restriction on political speech and therefore be unconstitutional.

Some lawmakers also questioned whether the commission is too aggressive - "too prosecutorial" in the words of Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas - because of its active role in investigating and ruling on possible ethics violations.

"I personally think it's a silly allegation. We're asking questions they don't want to answer. I don't have a vested interest in the outcome," Boetsch said in an interview. She added that if some legislators don't have any legitimate criticisms of the commission, they attack the commissioners.

Giunchigliani also wants to tighten criteria for choosing commission members, saying that people with more scholarly legal experience would be preferable.

"I don't want to put a chilling effect on the process," she said in an interview, adding that she backs the commission's request for more staff to deal with an increasingly complex caseload.

Boetsch wants to add nearly $90,000 to the $390,000 that Gov. Kenny Guinn has proposed in his budget for the 1999-2001 biennium.

If approved, the money would be used mainly to fund two new staff positions, an executive director and a half-time administrative assistant.

The Ethics Commission is up for major reorganization this legislative session. There are several bill drafts in the works that would change the way it does business.

Senate Government Affairs Chairwoman Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, favors a larger, more assertive ethics panel, while Guinchigliani prefers cutting back on some of the panel's duties to help speed up decisions.

Both agree on much of the criticism of the Ethics Commission: that it is understaffed and can't handle cases fast enough to be fair to elected officials facing accusations of unethical conduct.

archive