Legislative leaders: No independent ethics commission bill this year

House Speaker Lawerence Denney told the Idaho Press Club today, “I think we’re at the point where we’re ruling out the independent ethics commission.” A bipartisan House-Senate working group couldn’t reach agreement, and there were separation of powers issues with the question of whether a commission could oversee both the legislative and executive branches, Denney said.

However, both Denney and Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill said they still expect some moves toward ethics reforms in this year’s legislative session, including, at the very least rules changes in both houses adjusting how ethics committees work and requiring annual ethics training for lawmakers.

Denney said he’s “not ruling out that we still might get to” financial disclosure and revolving-door legislation, which would require lawmakers to disclose their assets and income sources and impose a year’s wait between public service and lobbying. Hill said, “Of the two, I think financial disclosure is probably the most likely.” Hill said though both he and Denney have expressed support for a one-year wait before lobbying, and though Idaho’s seen several high-profile public officials go immediately into lobbying this year,  “It just hasn’t been as high on the priority list as some of those other things.”

Hill said he views ethics reforms as one of the session’s “going-home” issues - things that must be addressed before lawmakers can wrap up their sesison and go home. “These are not going to be big, giant steps,” he said. “But I think we’re going to make some progress.”