Eye On Ethics - Briefing Papers on the Important Ethics Issues
Ethics Training
By Peggy Kerns and Nicole Casal Moore
October 2003
Lawmakers across the country face similar challenges. During the 1990s, state legislatures passed more complex rules and laws that govern legislators' behavior. "One of the reasons we pass ethics laws is to assure people we're ethical," says Kansas Senator Lana Oleen. Training in these laws is more important than ever.
Forty-four states include some type of ethics training in their new member orientations. In 16 states, training for new legislators is mandatory. Formal, ongoing training is available to all legislators in 17 states. States are almost equally divided as to whether the ethics commission or the legislature conducts the training. In at least seven states, the ethics commission or another body is mandated to provide such training, but legislators are not required to attend. Twenty-two states offer ethics training for legislative staff, and an increasing number offer similar training for lobbyists. Attendance usually is not mandated. California is one of the few states that requires every person who registers as a lobbyist to periodically attend an ethics course.
The types of training and approaches vary, but generally ethics training is designed to explain the rules-what one can and cannot do. Topics could include accepting gifts, disclosing personal income, receiving honorariums, and understanding revolving door laws. Several states offer ethics training online. The Indiana Ethics Commission has created "A Case of Ethics: An Online Game of Skill and Chance," which tests participants' knowledge of Indiana's laws. In California, the attorney general's office and the Fair Political Practices Commission have developed ethics training courses on the Web. On-line training programs also exist in Florida and Rhode Island.
The Ideal Training.
The Ethics Resources Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in Washington, D.C., believes that ethics training needs to integrate rules and value-based training. "It's obvious that public officials need to know their own ethics laws, but they also need to know the right questions to ask and the tools to prepare them for situations that laws do not cover," said Stuart Gilman, Ethics Resource Center president. NCSL's Center for Ethics in Government agrees. The center encourages states to educate on the laws, and also to present ethics as values.
Georgia has taken this dual approach. In 2002, the Georgia State Ethics Commission conducted training for new legislators on the specifics of the state's ethics laws. The training did not get into why laws passed or legislative intent. Georgia legislators received their broader training from the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government at its Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators. The institute offered a session for new legislators on "Succeeding as an Ethical State Legislator." In addition, all incumbent legislators attended a session on the "State of State Legislative Ethics" that discussed the ethical climate in the states. This session also discussed clashes of values that legislators may experience in their personal and professional lives.
The Ohio Joint Commission on Legislative Ethics has invited ethicists to its otherwise rules-based training sessions. The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission includes speakers such as Michael Josephson, Rushworth Kidder and Alan Rosenthal at its annual training. In Nevada, trainers talk about values, in addition to the legal aspects of Nevada ethics laws. "There is a moral and a legal side," explained Stacy Jennings, executive director of the Nevada Ethics Commission.
With its 23 exceptions, the part of the Illinois code that explains when, where and from whom legislators can accept tokens of appreciation is more than 5,000 words long. The state's Gift Ban Act is just one of many ethics laws legislators must understand once they take office.
The Role of Leaders
At New Mexico's mandated ethics training in 2002, the elected leadership, including House Speaker Ben Lujan and Senate President Pro Tem Richard Romero, was visible and actively participated in the discussion. In Georgia, Representative Johnny Floyd, chair of the House Ethics Committee, and Senator Jack Hill, vice chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, sat in front of the audience for the entire session and responded to questions about ethical dilemmas.
The commitment of leaders to ethics training is essential to an effective program, says Alan Rosenthal, director of public policy at Rutgers University. "A move in this direction [training] will require the leadership of people who appreciate the increasing connection between ethics and the health of their institution," Rosenthal says. A growing number of states believe that educating people on the laws does not go far enough. They have expanded their training to include a discussion of ethics as commitment to one's values and not just adherence to laws.
Rosenthal agrees that ethics training should go well beyond what we normally think of as "training." He sees four things happening as a result:
- Discussions can raise the ethical consciousness of legislators.
- Structured conversations will give legislators an opportunity to compare and comment on what they believe to be proper and improper under various circumstances.
- Discussing ethics may bring legislators closer to consensus on certain issues.
- In time, legislators may increase their ability to reason morally.
Selected References
Lewis, Carol W. The Ethics Challenge in Public Service. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1991.
Rosenthal, Alan. Drawing the Line. Lincoln, Neb., and London, England: University of Nebraska Press, Twentieth Century Fund Book, 1996.
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