Politics & Government

Slavens Introduces Bill in Ethics, Transparency Package

Canton Democrat targets awarding big contracts to campaign donors in bill package.

State Rep. Dian Slavens, D-Canton, announced that she will be sponsoring legislation in a Democratic-sponsored package of ethics, accountability and transparency bills that call for an open, honest and accountable Legislature, according to a news release from Slavens.

"It's disheartening that so many people have such a dim view of their elected officials," Slavens said in the news release. "They think politicians are untrustworthy. We need to change that perception, and this legislation will help us do it."

The package of bills, if enacted, would create a culture of accountability and transparency in campaigns and in the legislature. Slavens' bill, House Bill 4428, aims to ban the state from awarding a contract of $100,000 or more to a contractor or vendor that donates to the campaign of officials who award contracts.

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According to the news release, other bills included in the package will:

  • Require a corporation that makes independent expenditures to file a notice with the Secretary of State and get permission from shareholders.
  • Require committees to file quarterly campaign finance filings in both on and off years to shed more light on campaign contributions.
  • Create an ethics act for the administration and its employees to strengthen conflict-of-interest concerns for those individuals.
  • Create a lobbying expenditure database.
  • Require a candidate who switches parties to pay back with interest any contributions collected before the party switch.

"Elected officials are supposed to serve the people, not their campaign donors or special-interest groups," Slavens said in the news release. "We need to make sure politicians are accountable only to the constituents who put them into office."

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