Watchdogs fuming over ethics ruling

Watchdogs fuming over ethics ruling
Web Posted: 11/27/2006 10:25 PM CST
Lisa Sandberg
Express-News Austin Bureau





AUSTIN — A Texas official who receives any sum of cash as a gift can satisfy state disclosure laws by reporting the money simply as "currency" without specifying the amount, the Texas Ethics Commission reiterated Monday.

The 5-3 decision outraged watchdog groups and some officials who accused the commission of failing to enforce state campaign finance laws.

"What the Ethics Commission has done is legalize bribery in the state of Texas. We call on the commission to resign en masse," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, who heads Texas Citizen, an Austin-based group that advocates for campaign finance reform.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat, said the "currency" interpretation would render it "perfectly legal to report the gift of 'a wheelbarrow' without reporting that the wheelbarrow was filled with cash."

In a letter to commissioners, Earle called such an analysis "absurd and out of step with both the law and current public attitudes and concerns about corruption in government."

Monday's ruling was preceded by little discussion.

At their last meeting, commissioners said they would welcome more precise reporting but were powerless to require it, based on current laws.

"The question here is whether the description of a gift of cash of over $250 is required to include the value of the gift," the Ethics Commission opinion said in part. "The term 'description' is not defined in Chapter 572 of the Government Code, nor is it defined anywhere else in the Government Code."

"In our opinion, the requirement to describe a gift of cash or cash equivalent may be satisfied by including in the description the following: 'currency,' or a description of the gift, such as 'check' or 'money order,' as appropriate," the ruling stated.

This was the second time the commission ruled on the issue of cash gift disclosures. In March, it ruled that a gift of two checks for $100,000 could be listed simply as "checks."

The case stems from a June 2005 disclosure filed by Dallas businessman Bill Ceverha, a board member of the State Employees Retirement System board. The system oversees a nearly $20 billion fund that provides benefits for 250,000 retired state workers.

Ceverha disclosed that he received a gift, described only as a "check," from Houston home builder Bob Perry, the largest Republican donor in the state.

Both have said the check for $50,000 was supposed to help cover legal fees Ceverha incurred defending himself against a lawsuit related to his role as treasurer of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's Texas fundraising operation.

The disclosure issue is sure to surface during next year's legislative session. Legislators have filed at least four bills for campaign finance, and Gov. Rick Perry has said he would support changing the current statute to require more precise reporting requirements.




The Associated Press contributed to this report.










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