Another state official is calling for an ethics commission in the wake of allegations that several lawmakers and government leaders have engaged in unethical conduct.

Sen. Anthony Pollina’s proposal is the most stringent yet. The Washington County senator is submitting draft legislation that would set much tougher financial disclosure rules for lawmakers and state officials.

Pollina, who is vice chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, is also pushing for the formation of an ethics panel that would be protected from political bias. He wants commission members to be selected by independent organizations, not elected officials.

Vermont is the only state in the Northeast that does not have an ethics commission. Nationally, all but a handful of states have some kind of commission that reviews complaints about conflicts of interest, abuses of power and ethical issues. Vermont also has no law requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest or candidate finances. While campaign finance data is submitted to the Secretary of State’s office, the secretary does not verify the accuracy of information filed by candidates.

Here is a rundown on Pollina’s proposed rules:

• The plan would prohibit lawmakers and state officials from participating in a conflict of interest of any kind, including consideration of a matter that would impact the employment of a spouse.
• State officials would be forbidden from hiring a relative or close friend.
• Officeholders would no longer be able to work for or have a private interest in a company that is impacted by a public office.
• Private companies would not be allowed to give campaign contributions to a state official who oversees a contract with that company.
• There would be a limit on gifts for all officeholders and a prohibition on using public resources, such as confidential information, for private gain.
• Former lawmakers and state officials would not be allowed to lobby the Legislature for a period of time (yet to be determined).

Pollina’s plan would also give nonpartisan groups a say in who would serve on the ethics commission. The Vermont Press Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Vermont Bar Association, the Vermont Human Rights Commission and the chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court would select the five members of the panel.

Previous proposals from Campaign for Vermont, a nonprofit think tank, and Jim Condos, the secretary of state, have given the governor, the House speaker, and the Senate president pro tem the authority to select commission members.

“We don’t want the Governor, Speaker and Senate President, all partisan, elected officials choosing these commission members, like they usually would,” Pollina said in a statement. “The bottom line is the commission must be as independent as possible. No elected official should investigate another elected official. The members of the commission should not be elected officials and should not be selected by elected officials.”

Pollina cites a case in which Bill Sorrell, the Vermont attorney general, was accused of campaign finance violations. Under the law, the attorney general investigates campaign finance allegations. Because there is no statutory mechanism for an external investigation, it was up to the governor to decide whether to hire a special prosecutor. Gov. Peter Shumlin eventually asked Tom Little to serve as an independent investigator in the case.

Like Condos, Pollina believes the commission should be a quasi-judicial body with professional staff that would assign complaints to an investigator who would conduct interviews, gather evidence and compile a report, according to a three-page outline. A team, including a prosecutor, the investigator and two members of the commission would decide whether to file charges.

The two members who served on the investigative team would be recused from the adjudication of the charges.

The commission would conduct hearings that would allow a person who is accused of an ethical violation to obtain a lawyer, present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. An administrative law judge would assist with evidentiary rulings.

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office would no longer have the authority to investigate campaign finance violations under the plan.

As per the Constitution, the commission’s powers over the Legislature would be limited. The panel could recommend discipline for a member of the House or Senate, but only the Legislature could decide whether to censure a lawmaker.

Pollina’s proposal does not include the hiring of an ombudsman who would handle public records and open meeting law complaints, as suggested by the Secretary of State.