Ethics bill targets executive travel and legal fees

The Alaska Legislature should write the ethics rules that apply to the executive branch, not someone within the branch, an Anchorage lawmaker said Tuesday.

State Rep. Max Gruenberg, a Democrat, is sponsoring a bill discussed in committee Tuesday laying out when the state will pay for executive branch travel for officials and family members. It also says the state can reimburse officials for legal fees for fighting an ethics complaint - if the official is exonerated.

The attorney general created similar regulations that passed legislative review Feb. 8, though Gruenberg said it should come from the Legislature to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Attorney General Dan Sullivan was appointed to office by then-Gov. Sarah Palin, who left office citing, in part, the costs of fighting ethics complaints against her.

Sullivan's rules would automatically go into effect unless lawmakers pass superseding law.

Both sets of rules address fuzzy ethics areas raised by complaints during Palin's administration. The former Republican vice presidential candidate resigned midway through her first term, complaining of the financial toll from more than 20 ethics complaints filed against her.

Palin said she amassed more than $500,000 in legal fees battling the complaints, most of which were dismissed. But from one of the complaints, Palin reimbursed the state for some travels taken by her children.

Under Gruenberg's bill, the state will pay for the governor and lieutenant governor's family travel if the person is required for official state action, is attending as an official representative of the state or for a state-sponsored event where the person's attendance is customary. Family members may also accompany the governor or lieutenant governor to events on important state issues if invited in advance and attendance is customary.

Short of those conditions, family members could still accompany the governor or lieutenant governor as long as the state is reimbursed for their share of travel.

House State Affairs Committee Chair Bob Lynn, an Anchorage Republican, said he will pass the bill out of committee pending minor amendments.

"I think it's a very important bill. It needs to get done for the current governor and succeeding governors," Lynn said.

Meanwhile, Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, sponsored a separate bill that would require the state be reimbursed for all travels by the governor or lieutenant governor's family members. Gruenberg doesn't agree with that approach.

"In the case of the Palins, it would have been harsh," Gruenberg said.

Lynn has not scheduled a committee hearing for Guttenberg's bill.