INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma announced Friday he plans to propose a comprehensive ethics bill during next year’s legislative session to address what he described as “significant gaps” in state ethics law.
The House Ethics Committee’s review of state Rep. Eric Turner’s actions on a proposed nursing home construction moratorium was thorough, Bosma said, and revealed the need for legislation. The committee concluded that Turner, a Cicero Republican, didn’t violate ethics rules in speaking to a private meeting of House Republicans against the moratorium that The Associated Press reported could have cost him millions of dollars. But the committee did say Turner’s actions raised concerns that the rules didn’t require ample disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.
Bosma said he has removed Turner, who is up for reelection in November, as speaker pro tem.
“Given the recently disclosed magnitude of Rep. Turner’s personal and family financial interest in the outcome of the nursing home moratorium debate, any involvement in the decision-making process — whether in public debate or through private discussions with fellow elected officials — presented an irreconcilable conflict. Rep. Turner should have recused himself entirely from influencing the matter in any way, given the personal financial stake involved,” Bosma said in a prepared statement.
At the time of the debate, Turner was an investor in his son’s nursing home development company.
Turner said on Friday it was an honor to have served in the leadership role.
“I have remained committed to serving the Speaker, our Caucus and the Indiana House with the highest integrity. I serve at the pleasure of the Speaker of the House and respect his decision for the next term. I look forward to continuing as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives and serving the citizens of my district,” Turner said in a released statement.
On Friday, Turner’s Democratic competitor in November’s election, Bob Ashley, said the House should reopen its review into Turner’s behavior. Ashley said the question remains whether Turner discussed the extent of his interest in the nursing home moratorium debate.
“The question that needs to be resolved,” Ashley said in a released statement, “is whether Turner discussed both sides of the issue regarding who would benefit and who would be hurt by the legislation, and whether Turner disclosed the extent of his own self-interest. That’s what Speaker Bosma needs to find out and make public.”
Earlier this week, Democratic candidate for State Auditor Mike Claytor called for an expansion of Indiana’s financial disclosure requirements for elected officials.
Bosma, an Indianapolis Republican, said the expectation of impartial decision-making by lawmakers is a “precept in a free democratic system.”
“In a part-time legislature we each carry with us our own personal conflicts and influences, and we must continually be on guard to set them aside, or recuse ourselves entirely from influencing that matter,” Bosma said. “Our greatest concern must be the confidence of the public in their elected officials.”