Gov. Steve Beshear could not win legislative approval of his proposal for executive branch ethics reform, but he has called a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday at which he is expected to announce that he will implement some or all of his proposed reforms by executive order.
Among other things, his initial proposal would have required more frequent disclosure of contributions to any legal defense fund established by an executive branch official. Former Gov. Ernie Fletcher formed a legal defense fund to help pay the legal costs he accrued as a result of the BlackBerry Jam investigation into his administration's hiring practices, an investigation that led to his indictment on misdemeanor charges. Fletcher later cut a deal with former Attorney General Greg Stumbo's office to get those charges dropped. The current reporting requirements for a legal defense fund allowed Fletcher to keep the names of donors and the amounts they donated secret until after he left office.
In addition, Beshear's original ethics proposal called for the governor, the attorney general and the state auditor to select nominees for the Executive Branch Ethics Commission on a rotating basis. Currently, the governor has sole authority for appointing the panel's members.
Other changes in the governor's original proposal would expand the scope of the ethics commission to cover more executive branch officials and strengthen the rules on conflicts of interests and the acceptance of gifts.
Larry Dale Keeling, a columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, has spent most of his 35-plus years in journalism reporting on or writing editorials and columns about Kentucky’s politics and political issues. He now brings his experience and expertise on those topics to the KyKurmudgeon blog.
Two words on why this is an absolute crock..Jonathan Miller. Good Lord. Do your job stinking Kentucky press corp.