Anne Arundel Today

Anne Arundel County issued the following announcement on Sept. 17.

In keeping with his commitment to transparency and good government, County Executive Steve Schuh today announced a series of proposed ethics reforms for Anne Arundel County.

“Our citizens deserve a fair, honest, and transparent government,” said Schuh. “These reforms will ensure that we instill the highest ethical standards across Anne Arundel County.”

The ethics reform proposal includes provisions:

• Requiring mandatory ethics training for all County employees and elected officials, every five years.
• Implementing stricter gift restriction on meals and beverages.
• Increasing the penalties on lobbyists who violate the Ethics Code
• Mandating all County board and commission members be covered by and subject to the Public Ethics Law

The reforms would be implemented by the Anne Arundel County Ethics Commission. The Commission administers the Public Ethics Law, provides ethics training to county employees, provides advice to county employees, maintains financial disclosure records, maintains lobbying records, and investigates and holds hearings on alleged violations of the Ethics Law.

“I applaud the Administration’s focus on public ethics, and the proposed changes will ensure Anne Arundel County’s Public Ethics Law remains one of the most comprehensive in the state,” said Ethics Commission Executive Director Michael Botsaris

The proposal will be heard September 17th and is subject to County Council approval.

Original source can be found here.