[StBernard] Board balks at Boasso ruling

[Westley Annis]

Board balks at Boasso ruling
Ethics decision raises tension
By MARSHA SHULER
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Nov 21, 2009 - Page: 12A

The Louisiana Board of Ethics refused Friday to ratify a ruling by an administrative law judge panel in a campaign finance disclosure case involving Walter Boasso, a candidate in the 2007 governor’s race.

Board members said they disagree with the ruling and could not in good conscience endorse it.

Instead, the Ethics Board voted 8-1 to acknowledge receipt of the ethics adjudicatory panel’s ruling.

The vote heightens a conflict stemming from the 2008 transfer of judicial powers from the board to separate administrative law judge panels. The power transfer was part of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s ethics revamp.

Ethics Board member Blake Monrose, the lone objector, said the board would violate state law if it did not approve the Boasso ruling.

“While I personally disagree with what the Ethics Adjudicatory Board did in the Boasso decision, we are required to adopt it within 45 days of a decision,” said Monrose, of Lafayette.

An administrative law judge panel found the campaign of Boasso — a former state senator who came in second in the election Jindal won — violated the campaign finance disclosure law when it failed to accurately report $1.2 million in spending.

But the panel said the Ethics Board did not consistently enforce the law and reduced the fine to $5 a day for each day the accurate report detailing media spending was not submitted.

That came to a total fine of $230 — far short of the $2,500 maximum find that could have been imposed.

Ethics Board member Scott Schneider, of Mandeville, said the $5 a day fine is problematic because it could be precedent-setting for future cases of nondisclosure of campaign spending.

Board chairman Frank Simoneaux, of Baton Rouge, said legal counsel also was constrained in efforts to defend the ethics agency against claims of inconsistent enforcement.

Boasso’s attorney presented examples of campaign finance reports of other candidates where there were similar omissions but no enforcement action had taken place.

Ethics lawyer Alesia Ardoin had objected to introduction of the materials because under state law the agency could not confirm or deny it has looked into any of the campaign finance reports presented.

The adjudicatory board overruled Ardoin’s objection.

In other action, the Louisiana Board of Ethics on Friday:

► Decided that three Baton Rouge police officers could not accept gift certificates from Sullivan’s Steak House for res-cuing three people from a home fire.

The board said state law bans a public employee from receiving anything of economic value other than their salary and benefits for the performance of their public duties.

► Ended a case involving Louis Rom, former director of Opelousas Office of Community Development. Rom agreed to pay a $1,000 civil fine for violating a state conflict of interest law.

The case involved Rom’s receipt of $10,000 from the Office of Community Development for the Evangeline Café.

► Rejected a request by Or-leans Parish Criminal District Clerk of Court Arthur Morrell for the board to rehear an old case against him. The Ethics Board fined Morrell $5,000 in 2006 after finding he used his legislative office for personal financial gain.

He exhausted court appeals in the matter.

Morrell must pay the fine or the ethics agency can stop him from running for re-election when candidate sign-up opens in December. After the no vote, Morrell said he will pay the fine next week but will also push his case in court again with new information.