Kansas ethics commission is already weak. GOP politicians want to pull more teeth | Opinion

“Ethics, schmethics,” Kansas lawmakers said at a public hearing last week. At least, that’s the gist of things in a Republican-backed bill to gut enforcement of campaign finance, lobbying and conflict of interest laws.

Money and connections matter in Topeka. During the legislative session, lawmakers, legislative staff and lobbyists mix and mingle. There’s the official action in the Capitol building, and then there are the quieter discussions, dinners and drinking that take place after hours. It’s the seamy side of lawmaking that the public rarely gets to see.

Campaign finance laws are supposed to curb the worst abuses and graft in that environment, and the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission is supposed to enforce those laws. It investigates alleged wrongdoing and imposes fines when appropriate.

Republicans are unhappy with the commission because of recent and ongoing investigations into party members and political action committees aligned with the party. GOP lawmakers tried to oust the commission’s executive director last year but failed. Now it’s payback time.

House Bill 2391 would effectively end accountability and render the commission powerless.

The bill establishes a two-year statute of limitations on campaign finance violations. That’s impossibly short for the underfunded, understaffed commission.

It would allow candidates to throw campaign funds around with wild abandon. They could give gifts to “any volunteer, staff member or contractor.” Nothing would stop a candidate from raising a bunch of money, getting a friend to volunteer for the campaign and then gifting that friend, oh, say a Tesla. You get a car, and you get a car, and the public gets swindled.

On the plus side, candidates could spend campaign funds on family caregiving, which is something that’s long overdue. The need to care for a child or other family member shouldn’t be a barrier to running for office.

If lawmakers or candidates still manage to do something so egregious that it violates the new rules, they could use campaign funds to pay their legal fees and fines.

Campaigns won’t want for cash. The bill would allow big donors to circumvent caps on donations by funneling the money through shell companies, family members and other legal entities.

The bill would end the ban on soliciting campaign contributions during the legislative session. Think lawmakers and lobbyists are cozy now? Wait until lawmakers learn the phrase “on a completely different and unrelated topic,” as in: “That’s a mighty nice bill you want to pass. Looks like the vote will be close. On a completely different and unrelated topic, I’m starting to fundraise for my reelection campaign. Can I count on your support?”

If they would rather put up a veneer of propriety, candidates could coordinate with political action committees, something that now is forbidden.

Meanwhile the state ethics commission itself stands to lose funding. Right now, fines go into a fund that finances the commission. The bill would put that money into the state general fund instead.

Not that the commission will rule on a lot of cases or issue a lot of fines. The bill would require it to establish probable cause before it can issue subpoenas. That’s hard to do when investigators cannot compel witness testimony or disclosure of records.

If by some miracle a case does rise to a hearing, the accused could demand that it go to an administrative hearing instead of the commission. Then again, some lawmakers might want to stick with the commission because under the proposed rules, they could stack it with partisan cronies.

Finally, H.B. 2391 is a contender for this year’s “fox in the henhouse” award. An attorney who represents multiple clients currently under investigation by the commission helped write it.

Any one of the changes in the bill would be outrageous. All combined, they are just depressing — a dereliction of ethical and political norms that protect the public interest.

This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 5:00 AM.