A bill by state Rep. Leslie Osborn, which would close loopholes that allow state, county and municipal officials convicted of a felony to keep their benefits, passed out of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee today.“I am very pleased to see this long overdue legislation passed,” Osborn, R-Tuttle, said. “Public officials should be held to a higher standard and I believe deserve to lose their benefits when they have committed a felony.”
Osborn cited former state Sen. Gene Stipe and district judge Donald Thompson as the types of elected or appointed officials that would stand to lose their benefits in the future.
“They violated the public’s trust and doesn’t deserve to keep those benefits,” Osborn said. “I think it’s a slap in the face to taxpayers to see an official caught doing something wrong and then see him or her continue to collect money from the state.”
House Bill 1385 would remove language that specifies that in order to lose their benefits, elected or appointed officials would have to be in office at the time of the conviction. It would also remove language that specifies that the official had to violate their oath of office.
“It is not enough to take those benefits away only if the oath of office is violated and only if the official is currently in office,” Osborn said. “My only regret is that this bill was not in place in time to punish Sen. Gene Stipe and Judge Donald Thompson. These officials are charged with looking out for the public welfare and when they disregard the law, it is especially tragic. I am very proud of this legislation and proud of my fellow lawmakers for passing it out of committee.”
No comments:
Post a Comment