01 February 2008

piyush scam finally issues call for special legislative session on some ethics reform


click here to download six page .pdf
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(6) providing for a confidential advisory process and requiring that opinions be sterilized before publication to preserve the confidentiality of public servants requesting opinions;piyush scam wants to institute secret ethics opinions so that you will never know what your legislator or public servant was up to or what your legislator or public servant was contemplating being up to. exactly how does this scheme encourage transparency?
(4) authorizing qui tam incentives and standing to citizens to pursue public fraud cases when the state refuses to act. piyush scam wants to shift the burden and expense onto citizens to "pursue" fraud cases when the local districts attorney or state attorney general refuses to act. it would seem like the common sense thing to do, would be to pass a law or constitutional amendment forcing the districts attorney and/or attorney general to pursue violations of the law. after all, if a citizen has enough documention/evidence to pursue charges themselves then that should be enough for the d.a.'s and a.g. to do so as well. what piyush scam is doing here is in effect giving law enforcement an easy out because when you go to them with your complaint they will simply tell you to pursue it yourself.
(3) prohibiting legislators from changing votes after completion of floor action;
heres an interesting story from the 05 october 2006 times-picayune about house members changing their votes.
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  • first casuality in piyush scam's war on some corruption...errr piyush scam
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