EXECUTIVE BRANCH ETHICS OPINION

Our Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan held a Press Conference today at 1:00PM at the Department of Law Conference room in Anchorage, to issue a formal opinion on Executive Branch ethics issues. I was the only legislator present.

Among Attorney General Sullivan’s recommendations are that a public official cleared of an ethics charge would be reimbursed by the state for legal expenses. This change would be “prospective,” and not cover any of former Governor Palin’s legal expenses for all the dismissed ethics complaints.

General Sullivan also recommended investigative reports be kept confidential unless a complaint is determined to have merit. That would be in harmony with the bill I’ve drafted on the same subject, which I’ll be filing in January when our legislature reconvenes (please refer to my blog entry for June 18, 2009).

I’ll be asking our legislative legal people to comment on the Attorney General’s opinion. The Executive Branch and Legislative Branch are separate and independent branches of government. After the Press Conference, I did briefly discuss with a deputy attorney general the legal opinion as it might relate to the bill I’m filing. Hopefully, legislative committee chairs will act to expedite ethics related bills.

Every Alaskan has a right to file an ethics complaint against any governmental official. Nothing in my proposed bill, or the General Sullivan’s proposed regulation changes, takes away that right. It doesn’t matter to me whether my proposed bill fixes the problem, or a governor’s bill does the job - so long as the job gets done by somebody. As I’ve said repeatedly, ethics complaints need to be ethical.

Photo: Department of Law Conference Room, Anchorage. Attorney General Sullivan at podium. Channel 11 TV on the left, Channel 2 TV on right. AP photographer Al Grillo taking pictures. Reporters at the table.