Agreement to work on bipartisan ethics panel bill marks session’s first week

Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com about the agreement announced yesterday between legislative Democrats and Republicans to work together on a bipartisan bill to set up a new, independent state ethics commission. That came as the Dems unveiled their initial draft of the bill, authored by Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, a centerpiece of a slate of new ethics bill they’ll be pushing for this year.

Both House Speaker Lawerence Denney and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill confirmed the agreement. A working group consisting of two members of each party from each house will work on the bill over the next two weeks; then, it’ll be presented to both parties’ caucuses. Denney said he’d also like representatives of the Attorney General’s office and the governor’s office to participate in the working group, “so we’re all on the same page.”

Hill said, “We are all concerned about good government and ethics in government, so I’m very pleased that both the House and the Senate are willing to approach it on a bipartisan basis.”