CORRECTION: A spokesman for the campaign of Attorney General Leslie Rutledge responded to an ethics reform proposal madeby her Democratic challenger, Mike Lee. This article should have made clear that the comments came from a spokesman, rather than the Republican incumbent herself.
Ethics proposals released by Democratic attorney general candidate Mike Lee on Monday would sharply curtail the privacy of relationships that lawmakers share with lobbyists and political donors, while empowering the state Ethics Commission to more aggressively pursue rules violations.
Lee, a former federal toy regulator, has accused Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge of inaction as federal investigators continue to probe corrupt dealings in the state Legislature.
Rutledge responded in a statement by pointing to her creation of a new Public Integrity Division this summer that is investigating an unknown number of individuals, as well as an uptick in Medicaid fraud convictions that were investigated by her office.
The attorney general also accused Lee of his own ethics mishaps, including filing financial reports late and accepting a contribution from a corporation. The in-kind donation of food and drink, recorded as coming from Trio's restaurant in Little Rock, will be amended to show it came from the restaurant's owner, Little Rock City Director Capi Peck, a spokesman for Lee's campaign, said. Lee attributed the late reports to problems with the state's new online filling system.
But Rutledge noted that under Lee's proposal to disallow do-overs on campaign-finance filings, Lee could be subject to a fine.
"Mr. Lee needs to clean up his own house before hypocritically proposing ethics reform," Rutledge said in a statement.
A half-dozen current and former lawmakers have faced criminal charges during Rutledge's first term, from both state and federal authorities. That includes four former legislators who have been convicted in a federal probe into kickbacks related to state surplus spending.
Among the legislative proposals for 2019 that Lee promised, if elected, are banning gifts from lobbyists and requiring lobbyists to disclose what legislation they are involved with and legislators they meet.
Lee also proposed tougher campaign-finance laws aimed at eliminating dark money -- a term for political spending made by groups that do not disclosure their donor base -- and corporate donations to political action committees.
Lee also said he would seek to make the state Ethics Commission a "tough independent body" by revamping how its members are selected and giving them new powers to investigate wrongdoing and impose fines.
"This is a chance for Arkansans to vote and send a signal to the lobbyists and the Legislature in the state Capitol that the current era of corruption is coming to an end," Lee said in a news conference announcing his agenda.
Graham Sloan, the director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, said Lee's proposal to require that the commission conduct "spot audits" of campaign finance and disclosure forms would require more staff members and resources for the agency. Under its current makeup, he said, the five-member commission has nine staff members and about an $800,000 budget.
But Sloan said other proposals would be less of a change. For one, he asserted the commission already has the authority to begin investigations based on "reasonable suspicion," a standard proposed by Lee. It is only later in the investigative process that probable cause must be proved, Sloan said. And by removing certain exemptions in gift-giving rules or reporting requirements, Sloan said, the commission's job could even get easier.
"I don't know that more strict laws would be harder to enforce," Sloan said. "In some instances it would require stricter standards but easier analysis [of violations]."
Questioned about his proposal by reporters, Lee conceded that some details -- including a new system to appoint Ethics Commission members -- had yet to be worked out. Asked where he drew his ideas from, Lee said they came from several states, naming Texas specifically.
Lee's campaign spokesman, Jacob Kauffman, later provided several articles outlining changes in places such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Delaware that he said served as inspiration for parts of Lee's proposal.
The general election is Nov. 6.
Metro on 09/18/2018