Ethics Commission Approves Unethical Conduct

I have to wonder if there's any point in continuing to waste taxpayer's dollars on the Texas Ethics Commission, who don't seem to understand what constitutes unethical conduct.

I'm sure you've heard about the Commission's ruling a few months back that state officials don't have to reveal the amount of any gifts they may receive from outside sources. They would allow the officials to simply write "check" or "gift" on disclosure forms, even though the "check" may be for thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Commission may consider it to be legal and ethical, but it allowed officials to hide the fact that their influence had been bought and paid for.

Now we learn from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that this was not the only ethical short-coming that the Commission was blind to. The newspaper investigated recently just how elected officials in Texas are using (or mis-using) their campaign contributions.

It is illegal in Texas for elected officials to use their campaign contributions "to buy real estate or enrich themselves". But until recently it was a fairly widespread practice for them to pay exorbitant amounts to their spouses for rent from their campaign funds.

Two of the worst offenders are still doing it - Senator Jane Nelson (R-Lewisville) and Senator Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth). Nelson has paid $147,500 to her spouse for rent since 2000 from her campaign contributions, and Brimer has done the same thing to the tune of $169,456.

Is it unethical? Of course it is! But the Commission has ruled that it's perfectly acceptable because the spouse's property was "seperate" from that of the elected official.

Many officials have stopped the practice, but not because of anything done by the Texas Ethics Commission. They're stopping because voters know it's unethical, and actually kicked some elected officials out of office in the last election because of it.

Maybe it's time to get rid of the Texas Ethics Commission. They obviously wouldn't recognize unethical conduct if it smacked them in the face. Their continued existence is just a waste of taxpayer's money.