Is this ONLY in Louisiana? No wonder we're sinking
Jan 9, 5:21 PM EST
State senator hit with fine for ethics violation
By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The state senator who heads the Senate's governmental ethics oversight committee was slapped Tuesday with a $5,000 fine for violating the ethics code.
Sen. Charles "C.D." Jones didn't properly report his work as an attorney for three housing developments that sought tax credits from a state housing agency, the Louisiana Board of Ethics ruled. Jones violated state ethics law that requires elected officials who do work with government agencies to file notice with the ethics board within 10 days of the work, the board said.
Jones, D-Monroe, agreed to the opinion and paid the fine Tuesday. According to the ethics ruling approved by the board, Jones said that the ethics violation was "inadvertent" and that he didn't intend to avoid filing the required notification. (Must have been an "oversight.")
The fine was half the maximum $10,000 that could have been levied against Jones. The board approved the penalty and opinion without discussion at its monthly meeting. Jones didn't appear at the meeting.
Jones serves as chairman of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees elections, lobbying rules and ethics laws. He didn't immediately return a call for comment on the penalty.
The longtime legislator had a $65,000 contract with the Farmerville North Villa Developments and, as a lawyer for the housing developments, he filed three applications for tax credits to the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency in September 2004, according to the ethics board ruling.
The housing finance agency and the ethics board are housed in the same building, so Jones could have filed his required notification of the work with a state agency in the building where he filed the tax credit applications, the ethics opinion said.
But the board said Jones said he didn't realize the housing finance authority was a state agency that would require him to file the notice spelled out in ethics laws.
Jones, a lawmaker for more than 25 years, has received previous fines from the ethics board for late financial reports and paid a $7,500 penalty in 1998 for a violation of the ethics code involving conflicts of interest. Jones was accused of benefiting from nonprofit groups he helped create as a lawmaker and paid the $7,500 fine, but he did not acknowledge wrongdoing.
c 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
He's an attorney; also a state legislator. Wouldn't he know a "state agency" when he works for one? So WTH is he on the "ethics board?"
State senator hit with fine for ethics violation
By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The state senator who heads the Senate's governmental ethics oversight committee was slapped Tuesday with a $5,000 fine for violating the ethics code.
Sen. Charles "C.D." Jones didn't properly report his work as an attorney for three housing developments that sought tax credits from a state housing agency, the Louisiana Board of Ethics ruled. Jones violated state ethics law that requires elected officials who do work with government agencies to file notice with the ethics board within 10 days of the work, the board said.
Jones, D-Monroe, agreed to the opinion and paid the fine Tuesday. According to the ethics ruling approved by the board, Jones said that the ethics violation was "inadvertent" and that he didn't intend to avoid filing the required notification. (Must have been an "oversight.")
The fine was half the maximum $10,000 that could have been levied against Jones. The board approved the penalty and opinion without discussion at its monthly meeting. Jones didn't appear at the meeting.
Jones serves as chairman of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees elections, lobbying rules and ethics laws. He didn't immediately return a call for comment on the penalty.
The longtime legislator had a $65,000 contract with the Farmerville North Villa Developments and, as a lawyer for the housing developments, he filed three applications for tax credits to the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency in September 2004, according to the ethics board ruling.
The housing finance agency and the ethics board are housed in the same building, so Jones could have filed his required notification of the work with a state agency in the building where he filed the tax credit applications, the ethics opinion said.
But the board said Jones said he didn't realize the housing finance authority was a state agency that would require him to file the notice spelled out in ethics laws.
Jones, a lawmaker for more than 25 years, has received previous fines from the ethics board for late financial reports and paid a $7,500 penalty in 1998 for a violation of the ethics code involving conflicts of interest. Jones was accused of benefiting from nonprofit groups he helped create as a lawmaker and paid the $7,500 fine, but he did not acknowledge wrongdoing.
c 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
He's an attorney; also a state legislator. Wouldn't he know a "state agency" when he works for one? So WTH is he on the "ethics board?"
0
-
Just your typical politician. 0 -
How is that any different than anything Harry Reid has done? 0 -
Welcome to Louisiana politics.[;)] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by garyd
Welcome to Louisiana politics.[;)]
Its the President's fault!!!0 -
could get worse though. Jones could be sitting in Blanco's seat. We'll be creating a new word "worser" cause we'll be going from worse to worser... 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
5 comments