Voters have a right to know that government officials are working for the public, not wealthy special interests.
For over 50 years, state ethics commissions have been critical to our democracy by ensuring officials adhere to high ethical standards to preserve public trust in government.
Their role in implementing and enforcing lobbying, conflicts of interest, and campaign finance laws is essential for promoting transparency and accountability. Still, 2024 was a year in which state ethics commissions nationwide increasingly came under threat.
“Threat Assessment 2024: Risks and Challenges Facing Ethics Commissions” is a new Campaign Legal Center (CLC) report that takes a closer look at these developments.
CLC found that state ethics commissions nationwide faced major enforcement power threats, subject matter jurisdiction threats, and existential threats.
Legislation and litigation in multiple states weaken the ability of commissions to enforce the law, reduce the areas of the law they have jurisdiction over, or strip them of their power altogether.
States facing these threats include:
- Maine
- New York
- Florida
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Missouri
- Texas
- Minnesota
- Louisiana
- Nevada
- Hawaii
Three states — Oregon, Florida and Vermont — did see an expansion of authorities granted to state ethics commissions because of either legislation or ballot initiatives supported directly by voters.
This report aims to provide state ethics commissions with a summary of threats they may face, insight into how select states are working to protect their powers as watchdogs, and a blueprint for how state ethics commissions can continue to advance their missions and strengthen our democracy.
Read CLC’s report: “Threat Assessment 2024: Risks and Challenges Facing Ethics Commissions.”