Eagle Tribune - Sun, May 11 2008
Ethics Committee hasn't found anything wrong since 1991:
Female lawmaker's complaint could be test case for secretive panel
By Edward Mason
Staff writer
BOSTON — A female lawmaker's allegation that a male House colleague told her, "I could really hurt you if I wanted to," is providing a rare public glimpse into one of the most secretive panels on Beacon Hill.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating the complaint by Rep. Jennifer Callahan, D-Sutton, but members of the committee are prohibited not only from discussing the case publicly but also from disclosing any information about any matters before them.
Nor can they reveal even the most basic details of the committee's operations — such as how many complaints they deal with in any given year.
One thing is known about the Ethics Committee's work, however: It rarely finds anything unethical about the behavior of any member of the House, even when those members admit to, or are convicted of, wrongdoing.
If the committee does recommend disciplinary action against Jennifer Callahan's colleague, it will be the first time in nearly two decades it has held a state lawmaker accountable for violating House ethics rules.
Unable to comment
Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. James Fagan, D-Taunton, politely referred to House rules when he declined to answer questions about the Callahan case, the way the committee hears complaints, the number of cases referred to the committee during this legislative session, the number that resulted in punishment, and whether the committee ever meets in public.
"I don't want to appear to be a rude dope," Fagan said. "It's something I'm unable to comment on."
The public knows of the Callahan probe only because House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's spokeswoman notified reporters by e-mail that the speaker ordered an investigation. That followed media accounts of Callahan's allegations made on the House floor.
Ethics investigations are private for a reason, Fagan said.
"The rule exists," Fagan said, "to protect the integrity of the committee's actions." He also said members won't "fear (complaints) will become public like other things in the Statehouse immediately are."
Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, is the only local lawmaker on the 11-member panel.
He said secrecy protects lawmakers who file complaints and lawmakers who might be the target of politically motivated charges.
"There is real value in having a confidential process until and unless there's an action to substantiate," Costello said.
Government watchdogs, like Common Cause's Pam Wilmot, said the committee's secrecy is unwarranted.
While siding with lawmakers' concerns about privacy, Wilmot called Fagan's unwillingness to discuss how the committee works — even though the committee's procedures for handling allegations are posted on the Legislature's Web site — as "a little extreme."
She also said the committee should publicly document its work.
"I think there is a line where some transparency would be helpful," Wilmot said, "particularly around procedures, general statistics, cases disposed of and if there is a specific action."
Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, a Methuen Democrat, went even further. She said the House should open up the process entirely, telling the public when a charge has been leveled against a lawmaker.
"We're elected officials," Campbell said. "Given we file our statements of (financial) interest, what funding we receive and from whom, that's all public. So if there's some evidence of wrongdoing in the conduct of public business, that should all be public knowledge."
Nothing since 1991
Because of the House policy, little beyond what happened in public view and was reported in newspapers is known about the confrontation that sparked the investigation.
Callahan, a three-term Democrat, alleged she was threatened late on Friday, May 2, as the House was debating health-care spending in next year's budget.
Speaking to the full House, Callahan said she wanted to talk "about something I'm not proud of."
She said she was confronted by a male colleague who was upset over comments Callahan made earlier in the week about an inability to get funding for a hospice care program for severely ill children. She said the male lawmaker told her, "I could make things real difficult for you. I mean, Jen, I could really hurt you if I wanted to."
DiMasi then banged his gavel and cut off Callahan before she could go into any more detail. She has refused to identify the male colleague.
The committee does disclose when it has verified a complaint or decided to punish a lawmaker, by filing a report with the House clerk.
But the last time that happened was in 1991, when William Weld was governor.
One reason could be that the House rules list just 15 ethical restrictions. Those include using campaign funds for personal use, using a legislative position for financial gain, serving on a committee that handles legislation where a conflict of interest would occur, accepting gifts greater than $100, casting a vote for an absent member, discussing an ethics committee case or verbally abusing a colleague.
While the committee has not disciplined a single lawmaker since 1991, a number of prominent legislators have committed what could be considered ethical breaches and have been punished for them outside the Legislature.
Two House speakers have stepped down: Charles Flaherty after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion and Thomas Finneran prior to pleading guilty to obstruction of justice, a felony, in a federal voting rights case.
In 1994, a judge ruled that then Rep. Kevin Fitzgerald, a Boston Democrat who acted as an attorney to a mentally ill "bag lady," manipulated the woman into leaving him and an aide a $400,000 inheritance.
If the Ethics Committee considered those cases, it took no action.
Nor did the Ethics Committee take any action after Rep. Marie St. Fleur, the vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, admitted to owing thousands in federal taxes. The revelation did force the Boston Democrat out of the 2006 race for lieutenant governor.
The ethics of some committee members also have been questioned.
Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, D-Chelsea and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is also a defense attorney who is among lawmakers blamed for watering down a 2005 law cracking down on drunken drivers.
Another member is Rep. Thomas Petrolati, D-Ludlow, who has accepted campaign contributions from known felons, according to published reports. Petrolati, speaker pro-tempore, ranks second only to the House speaker.
And perhaps ironically, DiMasi, who ordered the probe into Callahan's allegations, is the subject of four complaints Republicans have filed over whether his business and personal connections have affected major legislation.
Those complaints were filed with the state Ethics Commission — not to be confused with the Ethics Committee.
The Ethics Commission is an independent office that probes complaints against Massachusetts officials and government employees.
Wilmot said it could serve as a model for the Ethics Committee.
Like the committee, the Ethics Commission won't discuss specific cases under investigation. But it publishes an annual report that gives details on the number of complaints received and how they were resolved. And it notifies the media when public officials are punished.
While the Ethics Committee's actions remain shielded from the public, Wilmot said the public will ultimately decide if the committee is doing its job in the Callahan case.
"The proof is in the action," Wilmot said. "And they haven't done much of anything. That's what the public will be concerned about, and do they think the result is appropriate."
Inside the Ethics Committee
r The Ethics Committee investigates complaints from House members and employees. It can also initiate an investigation by a majority vote of the committee. Committee members named in a complaint cannot participate in the committee's deliberations.
r All proceedings before the committee and complaints are confidential.
r The committee notifies any person named in a complaint and the complainant of the final result.
r Any member or House employee named in a complaint can appear before the committee with a lawyer.
r If a majority of the 11-member committee (7 Democrats, 4 Republicans) votes that a complaint has merit, a report is filed with the House clerk. All other complaints remain confidential.
r A House member can be expelled, reprimanded, censured or removed from a chairmanship or other position of authority.
r A House employee can be reprimanded, suspended or fired.
Source: Rules of the House of Representatives
