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About the Center for Ethics in Government

When people talk about politics, they don't talk about "the art of governing." They talk about heroes and villains, who-did-what-to-whom, and the unresponsiveness of our political leaders. They may support their own elected representatives, but they don't believe that most elected officials are trustworthy.

The Center for Ethics in Government was organized in 1999 to address this most critical, fundamental and far-reaching problem facing government in America: the loss of public trust and confidence in representative democracy. The Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization located at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in Denver, Colorado, and funded by NCSL's Foundation for State Legislatures.

The mission of the Center is to be a leader in restoring confidence in representative government by promoting ethical behavior for state legislators, staff, lobbyists and advocates.

What does the Center Do?

The Center champions professional and ethical principles in the legislative process. Our work is to:

Develop ethical standards for legislators and advocates,
Conduct training programs in ethical decision making,
Build a base of information on each state's ethics laws and rules,
Establish a clearinghouse of best practice,
Establish a library of media reporting and professional papers,
Develop a network of speakers and authors,
Hold forums to address issues of ethics and public integrity,
Partner with others to promote civic education,

Prepare legislative analyses of ethics and lobbying laws and study trends.

Principles

We believe....

In representative democracy and the legislative process.

Public office is a public trust.

Public trust extends to all who work in the public sector - elected officials, staff and advocates alike.

Public trust requires us to place the public's interest above our own personal interests.

Legislators, advocates and public servants have a responsibility to exhibit the highest ethical standards and behavior.

All public servants have a particular responsibility to help restore the public's trust in government.

The Center is guided by these principles.

Read the staff bios. Contact Peggy at 303-364-7700 or Peggy.Kerns@ncsl.org.

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Ethics Issues Overview

NCSL's Ethics Center has compiled, and continues to update, state-by-state data of ethics laws that affect state legislators and lobbyists.

Gift giving and receiving is prohibited in all states if it influences official action. From that point on, states differ in the details. Gift restriction statutes, outlined in these 50-state tables, include Gift Restriction Overview; Giving, Receiving and Reporting Food; and Hospitality at Outside Meetings .

Honorariums are payments for speeches, articles or appearances. Twenty-six states prohibit them if they are offered in connection with a legislator's official duties, as is outlined in this 50-state table. Most states that prohibit honorariums allow reimbursement for travel, lodging and necessary expenses. Twenty-four states allow honorariums or do not specifically address them in statute.

Nepotism is hiring a relative. Twenty-three states restrict nepotism to varying degrees, as is outlined in this 50-state table. All 50 states maintain laws that either prohibit the practice or suggest guidelines for conflict-of-interest situations, which may restrict nepotism depending on interpretation of the law.

Revolving Door laws ban legislators from lobbying government after they leave office. Twenty-six states mandate a period of time that must elapse before a former legislator can represent clients before the legislature. These "cooling off period" laws are intended to keep former legislators from using their government connections to benefit themselves or their business interests after they leave office. Find out more at this 50-state table.

Conflict of interest may be the most common ethical dilemma faced by public officials. Information is available on states' Definitions of Conflict of Interest, and several types of conflict of interest laws and rules: Representing Others Before Government, Contracting With Government, Dual Office-Holding, Dual Employment, and Voting Procedures in the face of conflicts of interest.

Personal financial disclosure laws require public servants to open their books, to a certain extent, for public inspection. Many elected and appointed office-holders at the local, state and federal level must abide by versions of these provisions, which are different from campaign finance disclosures. View 50-state charts on requirements involving Income, Client Identification, Creditors and Debtors, Gifts, Honorariums, State Connections, Lobbyist Connections and Household Members.

Lobbyists at the statehouse—whether paid or unpaid—have the job of influencing legislators to support a particular cause or point of view. Legislatures in all 50 states have passed laws regulating lobbyists to ensure that there is a distance between the lobbyists' legitimate role and the interests of the public at large. States' codes of ethics for lobbyists specify Registration Requirements and Fees, Activity Reports, Contingency Fee Prohibitions, the Definition of Lobbying and Lobbyists, and Prohibitions Against False Statements and Name Badges.

Ethics Commissions and Ethics Committees oversee that these laws are followed. Information is provided for each Ethics Commission and Ethics Committee. All states have an ethics committee that provides internal oversight, or the ability to appoint an ad hoc committee. In addition, 40 states have ethics commissions. The Center compares the two at Ethics Committees & Commissions: What's the Difference? A list of All State Oversight Agencies also is available.

Ethics Training Resources includes information on states' training programs, including Online Training. An Overview of the Center's Ethics Training also is provided.

The Center for Ethics in Government's mission is to address the most fundamental and far-reaching problem facing government in America: the loss of public trust in representative democracy. The Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization located at NCSL and funded through the NCSL Foundation for State Legislatures. Peggy Kerns is the Center's director. Natalie O'Donnell is senior policy specialist. Read the staff bios.

Links to state ethics statutes are available at the Center's site.

Revised September 2008

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