Opinion

Gift horse

Opinion of, The Miami Herald
Published: January 30, 2013

Whatever the motivation, Florida lawmakers are on the right track if they want to restore the reputation of a Legislature tarnished by scandals. Draft legislation filed by the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee contains a number of useful provisions.

Some of these are so basic that it's a wonder they're not mandatory already — for example, a provision that requires lawmakers to abstain from voting on legislation that benefits them. Duh. This falls into the category of no-brainer.

Other provisions clearly don't go far enough. The draft bill limits the kind of expenses that can be paid for by so-called Committees of Continuous Existence, whose sole purpose seems to be to allow lawmakers to evade campaign finance limitations. House Speaker Will Weatherford would rather do away with the CCEs altogether, and he's right. They're beyond fixing and should be terminated.

There's also room to upgrade the state Ethics Commission, which needs a stronger bite.

We agree with a 2010 grand jury report that found that the maximum $10,000 penalty the commission can levy should be increased to $100,000. And the commission should have the power to initiate investigations on its own instead of waiting for referrals.

All said, however, we're not prepared to look a gift horse in the mouth. If Senate President Don Gaetz and Weatherford really want to overhaul ethics in Tallahassee, they should be ready to fight for it, because they're likely to meet heavy resistance from lawmakers who like things just the way they are.

And if by some miracle the Legislature approves an upgrade, Gov. Rick Scott, who has never pushed for reform, should be prepared to sign the legislation.