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Stage set for bill expanding disclosure
The West Virginia State Capital Building in Charleston on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.
Purchase this photoCHARLESTON -- A West Virginia Ethics Commission committee this week signed off on a proposal for the Legislature to require spouses of political candidates to disclose their employment and financial records.
The commission plans to have the bill introduced in next year's legislative session after a watchdog group called The Center for Public Integrity gave the state an "F" for its disclosure requirements in a recent survey. The Legislature's 2010 session begins in January.
The legislation approved by a commission committee on Tuesday would require public officials and candidates to disclose their spouse's employment and business interests.
It also would require officials and candidates to disclose real estate holdings valued at $10,000 or more, along with any interests in sales or contracts with government agencies.
Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne, said some people have been talking about the issue. He said it might be time for West Virginia to join dozens of other states with more thorough disclosure laws for spouses.
"I was surprised by the information I saw," Perdue said of the report by the Center for Public Integrity. "I thought, and was hopeful, we were doing better."
The Center for Public Integrity has been reporting on disclosure requirements in state legislatures since 1999. It bases its rankings on a 43-question survey that measures public access to information on legislators' employment, investments, personal finances, property holdings or other activities outside the Legislature. In its 2009 ranking, West Virginia came in 44th.
Theresa Kirk, the executive director of the West Virginia Ethics Commission, said if lawmakers decide to change the disclosure rules, it would likely be done for all public servants.
"We have always had one financial disclosure form for all filers in West Virginia," Kirk said. "We'd be looking at changing the law for all public servants who file the form."
She and Perdue said the change is important for many reasons, but at the top of the list is having a government system that is transparent. She said it's just as important for residents in a small town to know which councilman's wife owns a printing business as it is to knowing what interests a state legislator's spouse has.
"Citizens have a right to expect a certain amount of basic and personal information about their elected officials," said Mary Boyle, vice president for communications for Common Cause, in the report from the Center for Public Integrity.
Boyle also said disclosure laws allow the public "to make a judgment about whether there are conflicts of interest." Perdue agrees, and thinks he and his Charleston counterparts should do what they can to ensure a transparent government.
Still, measuring the impact of such legislation is hard to comprehend until it has been in practice for a while, Kirk said.
"It's difficult to calculate with certainty the impact of any change in ethics laws, but one thing it would promote is awareness of conflicts of interest," Kirk said.
A conflict wouldn't prevent someone from running for office or require a spouse to step down or sell a business. But it would give the public access to a whole lot more information about candidates and elected officials. And it would outline the steps that public servants can take to avoid engaging in a conflict of interest, Kirk said.
Perdue said if a bill is introduced, it would likely come from the Judiciary Committee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
