Legislating live
Move to broadcast Ohio House hearings will be a public service
Friday January 11, 2013 5:17 AM
Columbus Dispatch
The Ohio House opened its 130th session on Monday by vowing to be more open with constituents, by expanding the use of technology.
House Speaker William G. Batchelder announced that for the first time, some House committee hearings, particularly those involving the state’s next two-year budget, will be broadcast live online and on public-access television. The House also will broadcast those hearings on issues that are of special interest to the public, he said.
Published: 1/11/2013
Toledo Blade
Political ethics
Ethical behavior shouldn’t be difficult, but state lawmakers and other elected officials sometimes have a hard time staying on the straight and narrow. Ethics rules, therefore, should be narrow and concise. And, to protect the public, Ohio needs reform legislation to make them binding on elected officials.
The most obvious form of transgression involves accepting improper gifts. Golf outings, dinners, and expense-paid vacations raise warning flags that any politicians should see. Yet temptation can cloud their better judgment.
Last June, former state Rep. W. Carlton Weddington (D., Columbus) was sentenced to three years in prison for accepting $5,000 in cash as well as trips to Napa Valley, Calif., and South Beach, Fla. His lawyer called the ethical breaches “errors in judgment.”
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