2017-08 August Newsletter - Kentucky
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In the recently completed fiscal year, Kentucky state government gave final approval to 334 companies to receive $173.6 million after the companies promised to locate or expand in the state.
In FY 2016-17, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) approved 49 of those companies to receive over $1 million in incentives, some by direct payment and some by allowing companies to retain tax money they would otherwise be required to pay into the State Treasury.
The fiscal year total is an increase from the $136 million in incentives which were approved for 298 companies in the previous fiscal year. The largest state incentive packages will go to the following companies in these counties:
Computershare, Inc. (Jefferson County) $13.2 million; Champion Petfoods USA (Logan County) $12 million; Aleris Rolled Products, Inc. (Hancock County) $11 million; Kindred Healthcare Operating, Inc. (Jefferson County) $11 million; Big Ass Solutions (Fayette County) $6.5 million; Amazon Fulfillment Services, Inc. (Boone County) $5.4 million; Thai Summit Kentucky Corp. (Nelson County) $5 million; Constellium-UACJ ABS LLC (Warren County) $4.5 million; Maker’s Mark Distillery (Marion County) $4.25 million; and Faurecia Automotive Seating LLC (Shelby County) $3 million.
THG International (Bullitt County) $2.6 million; Braidy Industries (Greenup County) $2.5 million; Diageo Americas Supply, Inc. (Shelby County) $2.5 million; GameStop, Inc. (Bullitt County) $2.5 million; INOAC Group North America LLC (Washington County) $2.5 million; International Crankshaft, Inc. (Scott County) $2.5 million; iwis Engine Systems (Calloway County) $2.5 million; LEDVANCE LLC (Woodford County) $2.5 million; Eby-Brown Co. (Bullitt County) $2.4 million; T.RAD North America (Christian County) $2.3 million; Retail (Bullitt County) $2.25 million; Specialty Foods Group (Daviess County) $2.25 million; Kellogg USA (Pike County) $2 million; and Sazerac Distillers (Nelson County) $2 million.
These incentive payments are from the state’s largest economic development programs, such as the Business Investment program (KBI) and the Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). The above totals don’t include amounts which will be paid by local governments to benefit the businesses, or payments or tax breaks from other state programs.
For example, Lakeshore Learning Co., which manufactures educational materials, is building a distribution center near Midway. KEDFA gave final approval to Lakeshore to receive $1.4 million from KEIA, preliminary approval to get $3.7 million from KBI, and approval for $1.35 million in Economic Development Bond funds to extend gas lines to the distribution center. KEDFA also approved a 100 percent reduction in the state ad valorem tax rate on Lakeshore’s building and equipment, which will be financed with industrial revenue bonds issued by the City of Midway. That tax reduction will be worth up to $50 million over 30 years.
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There are 611 legislative agents (lobbyists) registered in Kentucky, and they’re working for 719 employers. By Friday, September 15, 2017, all lobbyists and employers are required to file Updated Registration Statements for the period May 1 through August 31, 2017. Forms may be filed online, by fax, or via U.S. Mail. To file online, go to and click “file forms online.”
Four businesses or organizations have recently registered to lobby. Those are: Baxter Healthcare Corp.; the Kentucky State University Foundation, Inc.; Mariam Clinics, which has a clinic near Chicago, and states it will be lobbying on issues related to regenerative medicine; and Oldham Reserve Partners, which is developing 1,000 acres in LaGrange for office, commercial, retail, and residential use.
Meanwhile, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.; and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District have terminated their lobbying registrations and are no longer lobbying in Kentucky.
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FBI agents went undercover in Florida's capital for the 'biggest investigation in years'
FLORIDA -- USA Today Network – by Sean Rossman -- Aug. 16, 2017
Tallahassee -- Buff, bearded and handsome, Atlanta developer Mike Miller sat sipping a cocktail one afternoon last summer outside the spiffy Power Plant Cafe in the city’s new central park. Relaxed, with shirt collar open, he chatted up the head of the local Community Redevelopment Agency, spinning his grand plans to redevelop a not-yet-gentrified block in the shadow of Florida’s Capitol.
The meeting was one of many Miller had with local elected officials and hot-shot developers, beginning in 2015, when he rolled into the steamy, Spanish-moss draped seat of Florida state government. More south Georgia than South Beach, Tallahassee was hungry for the likes of Miller, an out-of-towner willing to spend millions to revitalize downtown as the capital city ached to rebrand itself as a place open for business.
But Miller was not what he appeared. After spending nearly two years infiltrating the burgeoning ranks of up-and-coming entrepreneurs and wooing the town’s politicians over wine and tapas, he vanished.
Until early this summer, that is, when a pair of FBI subpoenas were dropped on City Hall. Miller, it turned out, was no ordinary developer. He was an undercover FBI agent, sources close to the federal investigation said, the linchpin in an elaborate scheme to ferret out public corruption, which could lead to huge political shake-ups.
Often, Miller was accompanied by two other believed FBI undercover agents, sidekicks with spot-on Hollywood archetypes: An aspiring medical marijuana magnate from out West with blonde surfer hair, and a chubby, bald-headed leader of an energy efficiency company.
The apparent head of the federal probe – looking to land a new gig at the Florida Bar — boasted about his last job as head of the FBI’s North Florida Public Corruption Task Force. In his application, he described his most recent case, one with a $500,000 budget and a time frame similar to the Tallahassee investigation. For that case, he had a 25-member staff, including undercover agents, intelligence analysts, an airplane, covert vehicles, surveillance equipment and investigative techniques not used in decades.
At the time of the Power Plant meeting in July 2016, “Mike Miller” already was a year into what appears to be a massive, multi-year investigation of local politicians, their friends and millions of dollars in taxpayer redevelopment money.
Public corruption is the FBI’s chief criminal investigative priority and is something it does very well. The Tallahassee case whiffs of perhaps the agency’s most famous case: The undercover Abscam operation of the 1970s, which brought down dirty art dealers, phony stock traders and crooked congressmen.
From 1996 to 2015, U.S. Attorney offices charged 5,411 local officials with public corruption crimes, earning 4,699 convictions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The investigation in Tallahassee is one of roughly 5,000 the FBI launched from roughly 2012 to 2016 concerning allegations of public corruption, election crimes or government fraud.
“It’s very big,” said James Wedick, a retired FBI undercover agent who worked hundreds of public corruption cases at all levels of government. “Public corruption is one of the violations the bureau is best at handling. We’ve got the money, resources and agents to do it and we’ve got the people who understand the crime.”
Really corrupt politicians deal in straight cash, but many others are willing to sell votes or other government services for surprisingly little money, Wedick said. Bribes can take the form of “street currency” - dinners and sports tickets. In Allentown, Pennsylvania, prosecutors said all it took for Mayor Ed Pawlowski to dole out a city contract was a steak dinner, campaign contributions and tickets to a Philadelphia Eagles playoff game.
Public corruption cases require a boots-on-the ground approach. Wedick said agents are trained to read local news reports, chat with local activists and collect scuttlebutt.
It’s likely someone in Tallahassee was either operating as an FBI informant or a cooperating witness. Cooperating witnesses, Wedick said, are used to introduce an undercover agent and record their conversations using surveillance equipment.
A lobbying firm founded by Scott Maddox and now owned by his ex-chief of staff, also is under the microscope of federal prosecutors. An attorney for a person of interest in the case said there are “many targets” not listed in the subpoena. He called it the “biggest investigation in years.”
Wedick suggests the FBI must have something on Tallahassee to employ an undercover agent for so long. Agents, he said, must prove the worth of their investigation to the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI national office every six months.
“The fact that it went two years says that, to me, they had sufficient information in there for them to justify the two-year period,” he said. “And that’s a pretty high standard.”
Louisiana legislators have accepted $73K-worth of free travel since 2016
LOUISIANA – The (Baton Rouge) Advocate – by Elizabeth Crisp -- August 12, 2017
State legislators have spent considerable time in Baton Rouge with seven sessions over the past year and a half. But lawmakers have also benefited from thousands of dollars’ worth of free trips across the country in that time.
A review by The Advocate of disclosure documents found state lawmakers have accepted complimentary hotel stays, travel and conference admissions valued at more than $73,000 combined since the new Legislature took office in January 2016.
The trips, which do not face the same caps that limit gifts from lobbyists, are reflected in signed affidavits that lawmakers must file with the state Board of Ethics within 60 days of traveling for free to conferences and seminars or to give speeches to sponsoring groups.
Some government watchdogs question whether special interests use the trips as a way to win face time and curry favor with lawmakers often at beach-side locales or in major cities; legislators generally defend them as taxpayer-money saving educational opportunities.
Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political science professor who studies special interests and state legislatures, said that lawmakers may benefit from the experts they meet when they attend conferences or learning about other states, but he said the optics aren't always great if someone else is footing the bill.
"If this is something that if the state Legislature deems worthwhile, then the Legislature itself could pay for the trips," Loomis said. "That (way) there is never a question of conflict of interest."
Trips for Louisiana legislators over the past year were often comped by groups that identify as non-partisan, but records show some also accepted complementary travel from groups that overtly advocate on behalf of certain positions or were backed by wealthy corporations.
The Foundation for Excellence in Education, which pushes state policies favorable to charter schools and voucher programs, covered $19,000 in complimentary travel for 13 Louisiana lawmakers to attend an education conference last fall and stay in downtown Washington, D.C.'s Marriott Marquis hotel for two nights. The Foundation for Excellence comped more travel for legislators than any other group during the time period that was reviewed.
House Speaker Taylor Barras of New Iberia has accepted complimentary trips to Southern California, Boston, the Alabama Gulf Coast, and Vermont. At six trips reported, Barras was tied with state Rep. Pat Smith of Baton Rouge as taking the most complimentary travels.
In his most recently-reported trip, Barras disclosed that the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association had paid $209 for his lodging last month when he spoke at a meeting at the Grand Hotel Marriot in Point Clear, Alabama.
Two of his trips were paid for by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that provides training programs for legislative leaders. SLLF is funded by corporations and on its website, the organization promises donors opportunities to "interact with state legislative leaders in the classroom, and in various social and cultural settings."
Loomis said that specifically singling out legislative leaders, rather than more broad-ranging events, can give even more access to would-be influencers.
"What they get is unbridled access to legislative leaders and that's very valuable given how much power, particularly the top leaders in the Legislature have," he said. "If you do follow the money, people are making investments here and they probably expect some kind of return, instead of just well-educated leaders."
"I think it's always worth being suspicious when people are having trips paid for," Loomis said. "You have groups organize or pay for trips and, even if it's not a real conflict of interest, certainly it's the appearance of a conflict of interest."
"Legislatures are notoriously ill-regarded, so I'm not sure this does legislators any favors," he added.
Senate President John Alario of Westwego did not report accepting any complimentary trips. His campaign finance records show he dipped into his campaign account to pay for several trips for leadership summits in the past year, including those hosted by SLLF.
Missouri lawmakers accepted gifts worth almost $350,000 in the first six months of this year.
MISSOURI -- The Kansas City Star -- By Jason Hancock and Kelsey Ryan -- August 03, 2017
Jefferson City — Missouri lawmakers and their staffs received $347,368 in gifts from lobbyists during the first six months of 2017. That’s a lot of free meals, booze and concert tickets — roughly $1,760 per lawmaker for a span that included the legislative session.
But it’s actually less than the same period last year, according to Missouri Ethics Commission data. Lobbyists then doled out $375,284 in legislative freebies.
Observers point to numerous factors contributing to the decline, from increased public scrutiny on lobbyist gifts to a series of embarrassing legislative scandals two years ago.
Regardless of the reason, ethics reform advocates say the drop is a sign that the tide is turning and lobbyist gifts are increasingly seen as a potential political liability.
“When you go back home to your district, do you think your constituents will respond better to ‘I don’t take lobbyist gifts’ or ‘I take lots of lobbyist gifts, but it’s OK’?” said state Rep. Justin Alferman of Gasconade County, the sponsor of lobbyist gift ban legislation. “And as long as we keep the issue on the forefront, it makes it harder and harder to be a legislator who takes copious amounts of lobbyist gifts.”
Missouri law allows elected officials to accept an unlimited amount of gifts from lobbyists, from travel to sporting event tickets to rounds of golf. It wasn’t long ago that the no-limit culture translated into lobbyist-funded buffets as a regular feature in Capitol committee hearing rooms and legislative offices.
That dynamic largely changed in 2015. Early that year, a Jefferson City TV station filmed the Missouri House Telecommunications Committee holding a public meeting at the Jefferson City Country Club, where lawmakers dined on a meal paid for by the Missouri Telecommunications Industry Association.
Then-House Speaker John Diehl of St. Louis County responded to the public outcry by banning lobbyist meals at House committee hearings and prohibiting those hearings from taking place outside the Capitol.
“When John Diehl ended that practice, he got a lot of heat from the caucus,” Alferman said. “There were people who actually asked, ‘How am I going to get food?’ But look at things now, and it’s clearly not hard. It does not hinder the ability of legislators to do their jobs when they are not being fed by the industries they are supposed to be regulating.”
Rep. Todd Richardson of Poplar Bluff replaced Diehl as speaker of the Missouri House and vowed to restore public faith in the Missouri General Assembly. Sitting atop his agenda: a ban on lobbyist gifts to elected officials. For two years, a gift ban has been the first bill approved by the Missouri House. Yet each year, it has languished in the Senate.
Alferman said he plans to continue pushing for a lobbyist gift ban as long as he’s in office. He noted that the number of people who have chosen not to take any lobbyist gifts is on the rise.
“This isn’t just talking points for me,” Alferman said. “I don’t like to be lumped in with the perception that legislators go down to Jeff City to serve themselves. I’d like to get to the point where it’s toxic for a legislator to take a lobbyist gift.”
EDITORIAL: Golf, Chiefs tickets, meals — how lobbyists woo Missouri lawmakers
MISSOURI -- Kansas City Star -- August 15, 2017
Lobbyists spent almost $350,000 during the first six months of the year buying gifts for members of the Missouri General Assembly and their staffs.
Voters who want government free of improper influence should look at the gift list.
Golf. Tickets to Chiefs, Royals and Cardinals games. And meals: breakfasts, lunches, dinners.
Lobbyists' spending on gifts actually declined this year, according to an analysis of the data by The Star. But that should be small comfort to voters who think lawmakers should make decisions on the merits, not over a fish sandwich with a lobbyist.
Concerned voters should pressure legislators to do next year what they failed to do this year: Prohibit lobbyists from buying any gifts for anyone who works in the General Assembly.
Many lawmakers have resisted that kind of ethics reform. They claim the gifts are so small as to be inconsequential, and since the gifts are disclosed, the chances for corruption are small.
Yet even small gifts buy lobbyists access that isn't available to the ordinary citizen. Those small favors add up and increase public cynicism about influence-peddling in politics.
To its credit, the Missouri House passed a ban on most lobbyist gifts this year. But the bill repeatedly has died in the state Senate, where members have apparently grown accustomed to small favors from special interests.
Gifts to Kansas City-area senators include flowers, travel and lodging expenses, concert tickets and meals. No one can seriously argue those gifts and recreational outings are actually essential or even related to state business.
Perhaps the push for an ethics overhaul will accelerate next session — before lawmakers face voters. Ethics reform is hard. But it's essential to the public's confidence in state government.
Supreme Court upholds jury’s findings against former Montana legislator
MONTANA -- Bozeman Daily Chronicle – by Freddy Monares – August 23, 2017
The Montana Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a decision finding former state legislator Art Wittich liable for violating the state’s campaign finance laws.
Jonathan Motl, then the commissioner of political practices, filed a lawsuit against Wittich in 2014, alleging Wittich had violated campaign finance laws during his 2010 primary campaign for Senate District 35.
The District Court jury in Anaconda that heard the case concluded that Wittich had violated campaign laws by failing to maintain and preserve records of his campaign contributions and expenditures, by accepting or receiving corporate contributions, and by failing to report all contributions.
Wittich appealed the decision to the Montana Supreme Court. He claimed that Motl did not follow the law in bringing the case, that the District Court judge made errors that deprived him of a fair trial and that the judgment against him was unlawful.
The Supreme Court in its ruling this week dismissed each of those arguments. It concluded the commissioner properly investigated the case, affirmed the District Court’s trial rulings and that it acted within its authority when it fined Wittich $68,232.58.
Fix New York's government? Some say key is new constitution
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press -- August 6, 2017
Albany — Corruption and a rigged political system are battle cries of both sides in a debate over whether New Yorkers should vote this fall to rewrite the state constitution.
Advocates of a “yes” vote say a constitutional convention is the only way to fix dysfunction, corruption and inefficiency in government and throw the bums out of Albany. Opponents warn the convention itself would be rife with corruption, potentially stripping away hallowed protections of the environment, labor and reproductive rights.
Both sides are launching media campaigns urging voters either to go for an overhaul or keep the status quo when they go to the polls Nov. 7.
The ballot measure is dictated by a provision in the constitution saying every 20 years, voters must be asked if they want to revise it. New York is among 14 states where the question of whether to hold a constitutional convention is automatically put on the ballot.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a government reform advocacy group that favours a convention. “Our democracy isn’t working for the average New Yorker and the way we’re going to fix it is through a constitutional convention.”
New Yorkers Against Corruption, a coalition of over 130 organizations opposing the referendum, says a convention would be a “$300 million boondoggle” that benefits only corrupt Albany insiders and big money interests that would take control of the process.
“It’s rigged. It’s fixed. I think this is a huge risk for New York to take,” said Donna Lieberman, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which opposes a convention but is not part of a coalition. “There’s a mechanism to amend the constitution inch by inch through the legislative process. That’s how it should be done.”
That process has added over 200 amendments to the state constitution since 1894, which is the last time a convention produced a new constitution. Efforts of the last two conventions, in 1938 and 1967, were rejected by the electorate.
Benjamin said no constitutional convention in New York’s history has diminished rights or protections, but have added many new ones.
Along with unions, the anti-convention coalition includes some strange bedfellows: Right-to-Life and Planned Parenthood; the Conservative Party and the Working Families Party; LGBT Network and New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.
“What they share is fear of what might happen against their interests,” Benjamin said. “They have an investment in the status quo.”
Benjamin said a convention is the only way to fix problems with administration of elections, campaign finance, the structure of the court system and the Legislature, which he believes would be more effective with one house instead of two.
State senator resigns after sex harassment review concludes
NEVADA -- Associated Press -- July 19, 2017
A Nevada state senator accused of sexually harassing women resigned, less than a week after a law firm probing the allegations concluded that he violated the Legislature's anti-harassment policy and behaved inappropriately toward female staffers and lobbyists.
Mark Manendo, who represented a Las Vegas area district, served in the Legislature for 23 years. The investigation into his behavior was ordered earlier this year after harassment allegations were brought to the attention of the Senate majority leader.
"As my senate term comes to an end, I feel now is the time to step aside and look for new opportunities to serve others," Manendo wrote in the resignation letter he sent to Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Manendo’s state Senate Caucus in a statement said the investigation found at least 14 instances of inappropriate behavior that took place during this year's legislative session, as well as occurrences during previous sessions.
"The investigator concluded that these allegations were credible and established a pattern of Senator Manendo creating an environment that interfered with the work performance of female lobbyists, visitors, and employees of the Legislature," according to the statement.
"The investigator found Senator Manendo's behavior constituted repeated violations of the Legislature's anti-harassment policy and that his unacceptable actions ranged from sexual comments and advances to aggressive, confrontational, and harassing conduct."
The firm also found Manendo attempted to interfere with the investigation even though he was warned against it. The caucus' statement says Manendo contacted a witness and tried to convince her to make up a different version of events.
State Rep. Marc Gergely pleads guilty to corruption charges
PENNSYLVANIA -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- by K. Giammarise & L. Navratil -- August 15, 2017
State Rep. Marc Gergely of White Oak pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and an illegal campaign contribution — connected to a ring of illegal gambling devices.
Mr. Gergely will retain his House seat until sentencing Nov. 6, when he must step down as part of the plea deal, prosecutors said.
Also pleading in connection with the same case was attorney Louis Caputo. He pleaded guilty to a criminal solicitation charge and was sentenced to five years of probation.
The two helped Ronald “Porky” Melocchi place illegal gambling devices in various bars and other establishments in the Mon Valley.
The lawmaker and prominent liquor license attorney gave the appearance of Melocchi having “friends in high places” to persuade reluctant business owners, Mark Serge, a prosecutor from the state Attorney General’s office, said. Melocchi has pleaded guilty to gambling-related charges and was sentenced to probation.
While Mr. Gergely has agreed to give up his seat in several months, House leaders could technically try to expel him from the chamber earlier — although some in the House suggest that is unlikely.
It has long been common for convicted Pennsylvania legislators to keep their seats until sentencing — the point at which, some argue, court rulings say convictions become final. In January, the House passed a new rule that would make it possible to expel representatives before sentencing.
“The changes that were made to Rule 47 were designed to make sure that if the situation came up that we wanted to have a member leave the House prior to him or her being sentenced...this would allow us to take that action prior to sentencing, so it could speed up the process if the House chose to do so,” House parliamentarian Clancy Myer said.
Republican and Democratic leaders on the House Ethics Committee could ask the parliamentarian to prepare a resolution seeking to expel Mr. Gergely from the chamber. It would be added to the House calendar on the next legislative day, and then someone would have to call it up for a vote. Two-thirds of the representatives would have to approve the resolution for it to pass.
As is common in such circumstances, the State Employees’ Retirement System will review Mr. Gergely’s plea documents to determine whether his charges require him to forfeit his pension.
Rep. John J. Duncan's campaign paid son nearly $300,000
TENNESSEE – USA Today Network – Tennessee – by Tyler Whetstone - July 7, 2017
Two weeks after John Duncan III pleaded guilty to a felony charge of official misconduct in the summer of 2013, his father’s campaign, Duncan for Congress, began paying him at least $6,000 a month for “salary expense.”
In all, Duncan III’s father, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., paid him $293,250 the last five years.
The first seven payments were made directly to Duncan III. Beginning in November 2013, the payments were made to a business, American Public Strategies, according to Federal Election Commission campaign records. The payments continued to be listed as “salary expense" and increased to two $3,500 payments a month.
Furthermore, for the 2015-2016 campaign cycle, Congressman Duncan's campaign fund raised $382,499. During that same time, Duncan III was paid $169,750 from the campaign.
According to the FEC, campaign funds may be used to pay a candidate’s family, but only if the family member is "providing a bona fide service to the campaign, and the payments reflect the fair market value of those services.”
Duncan III responded to questions for comment with a lengthy text-messaged statement attributed to the congressman.
"Every expenditure from my campaign has been done according to law and in compliance with all pertinent regulations of the Federal Election Commission," he said. "Many members of Congress, past and present, have paid family members for campaign work. The fact that family members have run, and worked in, my campaigns has been public for a long time.
Brendan Fischer is the director of federal and FEC reform for the Campaign Legal Center, a campaign finance watchdog organization in Washington, D.C. He said candidates using campaign funds for personal use is a “serious violation.”
“If they’re getting paid by campaign funds above fair market value, then that is personal use and is a prohibited use of campaign funds,” he said.
“For Duncan III to be paid $7,000 a month by the campaign in a noncompetitive district … certainly does not appear to be a reasonable rate,” he said.
According to Fischer, the FEC would be the department to enforce any penalties for wrongdoing. If a violation was found and it was determined that Duncan's office knowingly and willfully used campaign funds illegally, then the Department of Justice could get involved, he said.
In 2013 prosecutor Bill Bright said Duncan III, who was earning nearly $107,000 as the Knox County trustee, had then-attorney Chad Tindell file a salary lawsuit on Sept. 30, 2013, approving bonuses of $3,000 each for himself and five others, and a $2,000 bonus for a sixth staffer for completing a training program that none of them had, in fact, completed.
Bright alleged Duncan lied to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation by saying that no one ever told him it was improper to collect bonuses before completion of the training program.
Duncan III pleaded guilty by information, which means he agreed to skip a grand jury review. He received a one-year probation.
Rep. Duncan has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election. Duncan was first elected in 1988. His father, John J. Duncan Sr., was the district's congressman from 1965 until his death in 1988.
House Ethics Committee reviewing charges against Rep. Chris Collins
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington Post – by Elise Viebeck -- August 28, 2017
The House Ethics Committee is reviewing allegations that Rep. Chris Collins of New York engaged in misconduct, four months after his personal investment practices came under scrutiny in the media.
Leaders of the Ethics Committee said they had “jointly decided to extend the matter” and plan to announce their course of action in October.
The announcement provided the first public confirmation that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent ethics monitor, investigated Collins and concluded there is substantial reason to believe he violated the law, House rules, or the code of conduct governing lawmakers.
The Ethics Committee, which received the OCE’s report July 14, said its review “does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.” It did not provide details of the OCE’s investigation or describe the specific allegations against Collins.
The Congressman, who has denied wrongdoing, received a barrage of negative headlines in April and May after the Daily Beast reported that he wrote legislation that would benefit a pharmaceutical company in which he held a substantial interest.
Collins’s involvement with Australian pharmaceutical company Innate Immunotherapeutics, including his participation in its initial public offering in late 2013, prompted New York Rep. Louise Slaughter to introduce a bill designed to stop lawmakers from taking advantage of exclusive stock deals not available to the public.
The legislation would bar members of Congress from taking part in foreign IPOs or private-placement stock offerings. It would also stop them from purchasing stock at discounted prices.
Slaughter said she would be interested to know “what Congressman Collins knew and when.”
“He presented Innate as a great investment opportunity to his friends and members of Congress that shortly thereafter went bust after its drug was found to be no better than a placebo that caused harm to patients,” Slaughter said in a statement.
“Beyond the original STOCK Act that said members and staff couldn’t trade on non-public information, Congressman Collins went further and wrote an amendment to the 21st Century Cures Act that benefited him personally.”
A spokeswoman for Collins denied allegations of misconduct. “Today’s announcement was expected and is nothing more than a pro forma delay because Congress is currently in its August recess,” Sarah Minkel said. “Congressman Collins has followed all ethical and legal guidelines when it comes to his personal investments and he looks forward to their review.”
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ETHICS REPORTER
August, 2017
Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission
22 Mill Creek Park, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-9230
Phone: (502) 573-2863
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State approves incentives for businesses
Summer lobbying reports due by September 15
New registrants and terminations
Ethics and lobbying news from around the U.S.A.
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