Carter: Deal must be held accountable for costing taxpayers $3 Million with ethical lapses
Carter: Governor Must Be Held Accountable for Ethics Cover-Up That is Now Costing Taxpayers $3 Million
June 13, 2014
ATLANTA—Sen. Jason Carter said Gov. Nathan Deal must be held accountable for his role in the cover-up of an investigation into his campaign after the state announced it will settle three additional cases related to the affair.
Georgia taxpayers are now on the hook for more than $3 million in settlements. These settlements stem from pending and threatened lawsuits by multiple former state ethics officials who were wrongly terminated following their investigation into Gov. Deal’s 2010 campaign.
“As a taxpayer, I’m outraged, and as a citizen, I’m embarrassed,” Carter said. “I’m outraged that we’re now on the hook for $3 million, and I’m embarrassed that this is happening in our state.
“Taxpayers deserve to know what Gov. Deal’s campaign did that they are working so hard to hide from the public. The cover-up continues, so not only do we have to pay $3 million, but we still don’t know what happened. The full investigation needs to be reopened immediately.
“It’s unbelievable to me that Gov. Deal doesn’t see that his cover-up is the problem, and instead wants to attack the whistleblowers who uncovered it. Whistleblowers are there to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in our government, and Gov. Deal’s attacks on them show he’s not really committed to restoring ethics in our government.
“These suits showed just how easy it is for elected officials like the governor to interfere with ethics oversight. I fought in the state Senate for a strong and truly independent ethics commission. Gov. Deal and his allies have blocked this reform at every turn.”
In 2013, Carter introduced a bill to create an independent ethics commission appointed by the courts to remove control of the ethics process from those subject to its power. He sponsored a separate bill which would have asked voters to approve dedicated funding to permanently fund the ethics commission, thereby shielding it from political interference through the appropriations process. Carter joined with other Senate Democrats to sponsor similar legislation in the previous year.
Gov. Deal’s allies in the Senate refused to act on the measures, and in January of this year killed an amendment that Carter authored to make the commission independent.
A summary of the two bills, as introduced in 2013, follows:
Independent Ethics Commission (SB 49): The bill would create an independent commission staffed by appointees of the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. This legislation would legitimize ethics enforcement in Georgia by removing control of the ethics process from those subject to its power. Instead of a commission appointed by legislators or the governor, the legislation would create an Ethics Commission appointed by the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court (3 appointees) and the Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals (2 appointees), with the Chief Justice and Chief Judge instructed to strive for diversity on the commission. The commission would have 180 days to adjudicate claims, with the ability to have another 180 days in extreme circumstances.
Ethics Enforcement Act (SR 13): This resolution would allow voters to approve a dedicated appropriation of funds for the State Ethics Commission at .01 percent of the state budget. The measure would permanently fund the State Ethics Commission and protect it against manipulation by state legislators and the governor.
ATLANTA—Sen. Jason Carter said Gov. Nathan Deal must be held accountable for his role in the cover-up of an investigation into his campaign after the state announced it will settle three additional cases related to the affair.
Georgia taxpayers are now on the hook for more than $3 million in settlements. These settlements stem from pending and threatened lawsuits by multiple former state ethics officials who were wrongly terminated following their investigation into Gov. Deal’s 2010 campaign.
“As a taxpayer, I’m outraged, and as a citizen, I’m embarrassed,” Carter said. “I’m outraged that we’re now on the hook for $3 million, and I’m embarrassed that this is happening in our state.
“Taxpayers deserve to know what Gov. Deal’s campaign did that they are working so hard to hide from the public. The cover-up continues, so not only do we have to pay $3 million, but we still don’t know what happened. The full investigation needs to be reopened immediately.
“It’s unbelievable to me that Gov. Deal doesn’t see that his cover-up is the problem, and instead wants to attack the whistleblowers who uncovered it. Whistleblowers are there to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in our government, and Gov. Deal’s attacks on them show he’s not really committed to restoring ethics in our government.
“These suits showed just how easy it is for elected officials like the governor to interfere with ethics oversight. I fought in the state Senate for a strong and truly independent ethics commission. Gov. Deal and his allies have blocked this reform at every turn.”
In 2013, Carter introduced a bill to create an independent ethics commission appointed by the courts to remove control of the ethics process from those subject to its power. He sponsored a separate bill which would have asked voters to approve dedicated funding to permanently fund the ethics commission, thereby shielding it from political interference through the appropriations process. Carter joined with other Senate Democrats to sponsor similar legislation in the previous year.
Gov. Deal’s allies in the Senate refused to act on the measures, and in January of this year killed an amendment that Carter authored to make the commission independent.
A summary of the two bills, as introduced in 2013, follows:
Independent Ethics Commission (SB 49): The bill would create an independent commission staffed by appointees of the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. This legislation would legitimize ethics enforcement in Georgia by removing control of the ethics process from those subject to its power. Instead of a commission appointed by legislators or the governor, the legislation would create an Ethics Commission appointed by the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court (3 appointees) and the Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals (2 appointees), with the Chief Justice and Chief Judge instructed to strive for diversity on the commission. The commission would have 180 days to adjudicate claims, with the ability to have another 180 days in extreme circumstances.
Ethics Enforcement Act (SR 13): This resolution would allow voters to approve a dedicated appropriation of funds for the State Ethics Commission at .01 percent of the state budget. The measure would permanently fund the State Ethics Commission and protect it against manipulation by state legislators and the governor.
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