Ethics in recent months has taken a terrible beating in Indiana’s legislature, with state Rep. Eric Turner (R-Cicero) being the poster boy.
Turner was the legislator with a leadership position in the House Republican Caucus who lobbied his GOP cohorts last winter to defeat a bill that would prohibit construction of new nursing homes in the state. As it turned out, Turner’s family business develops nursing homes and the ban would have had a sizable negative impact on his financial interests. Reports indicate he failed to disclose the extent of those interests as he lobbied fellow Republicans behind closed doors.
The legislation indeed failed. In that respect, his efforts were successful But Turner’s actions triggered a review by the House Ethics Committee, which found no wrongdoing but did express concerns over his conduct and overall weak ethics rules.
It took a while, but House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) finally stepped into the fray late last week when he announced he would remove Turner from his leadership position following he November elections. While we would have preferred Bosma had acted sooner, it is clear he now acknowledges the seriousness of Turner’s ethical breach and is taking a strong stand against it.
“Any involvement in the decision-making process, whether in public debate or through private discussions with fellow elected officials, presented an irreconcilable conflict,” Bosma said in a statement. “Turner should have recused himself entirely from influencing the matter in any way given the personal financial stake involved.”
What’s more, Bosma is signaling that because of this and similar issues that have plagued the GOP this year, he is serious about pushing for ethics reforms in the next session of the General Assembly.
“I have no doubt the House Ethics Committee review of this matter was thorough and resulted in the correct conclusion; however, it also revealed significant gaps which must be addressed,” Bosma said. “My greatest concern is restoring the confidence of the public in their elected officials.”
It will take strong leadership to usher in meaningful reforms. Speaker Bosma will have his hands full. It would be particularly helpful if Gov. Mike Pence joined the effort. We encourage him to do so.