SENATOR SMITH HELPS LEAD ETHICS REFORM EFFORTS IN LA SENATE

  As a member of the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs, District 30 State Senator John Smith (D-Leesville) got right to work at the 2008 1^st Special Legislative Session with the committee approving a series of bills that are key to the ethics reform efforts under discussion at the State Capitol. Sen. Smith is a co-author of the measures that address transparency in government operations, conflicts of interest involving public servants and lobbyists' regulations.

  "We are no longer just talking about ethics reforms, we are acting on ethics reforms," Sen. Smith said. "The citizens of our state deserve open, honest, fair and reasonable government and this special session is designed to enact the needed state laws to ensure that."

  The measures approved so far by the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs include:

Senate Bill 1 prohibits lawmakers and certain executive branch officials from contracting with the state.

Senate Bill 2 prevents legislators as well as statewide elected officials and executive department agencies from lobbying the state or the legislature for a fee.

Senate Bill 3 repeals an exemption in current state law that allows legislators to receive free tickets to cultural and sporting events from lobbyists.

Senate Bill 4 is a proposed change in the State Constitution to require a two-thirds vote of the legislature to approve any future exceptions to the state's ethics laws.

Senate Bill 5 prohibits lawmakers and other elected officials from voting on matters in which they have a possible conflict of interest.

Senate Bill 44 bans lawmakers, statewide elected officials and state agency heads from being paid to represent anyone in a transaction with the state.

Senate Bill 8 limits what lobbyists can spend on public servants for food and drink to $50 per person, per event. There is currently no limit on such expenditures, although the expenses are reported.

Senate Bill 9 requires lobbyists to file expenditure reports monthly rather than twice a year. The measure also requires lobbyists to report expenditures totaling $50 or more on any one legislator or executive branch official rather than the current $250 total.

Senate Bill 10 prohibits lobbyists from entering into a contingency fee contract with a client.

Senate Bill 11 expands the information lobbyists must include on their lobbyist registration forms and expenditure reports to provide more information to citizens about their lobbying activities and relationships with legislators.

Senate Bill 35 bans public servants from transferring their assets to another entity in an effort to skirt state ethics laws.

Senate Bill 37 requires the Division of Administration to establish and maintain a Web site that allows citizens easy access to how taxpayers' dollars are spent and what results are expected from those expenditures.

Senate Bill 39 provides civil and criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully violating the state's public records and open meetings laws.

  The details of these measures and other ethics reform proposals under consideration at the special session are available on the Internet at www.legis.state.la.us . Citizens may also watch legislative committee meetings and floor debate on the same site.