Commissioners to discuss tweaking ethics policy

Clark County's moral compass will be up for discussion Tuesday when the County Commission once again considers tweaking its ethics policy.

And now the proposed changes include holding spouses of commissioners and the people they live with to the same standards as elected officials when they lobby the board: They can't act as paid consultants or lobbyists for people or companies that deal with state and local government.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he is proposing the changes as a "proactive measure" because the scenario "could come up someday."

"Let's come up with a plan rather than being reactive, to be frank, with the situation with Commissioner (Tom) Collins. ... There's clearly a bad perception," Sisolak said. "Do I think anything egregious happened? No. But I think we recognize there's a problem. We're fixing it as a result of it rearing its ugly head."

Collins said he doesn't care who is added under the policy if everyone is treated the same.

"I don't care if they want to include third cousins and once-removed uncles," Collins said. "How do you enforce it? There are so many problems with it. You've got to treat them all the same. Whatever comes up fair, I don't have a problem with it."

Sisolak has been critical of the County Commission's ethics policy, questioning whether it "had any teeth" to penalize wrongdoers. His proposal doesn't seem to address that.

Under the current policy, the board can reprimand or censure a commissioner and refer the violation to the district attorney's office. The new proposal would add spouses and household members to the parties who could be sanctioned for violations and would be held to the mandatory 12-month "cooling off period" before they could lobby commissioners.

It's unclear whether the policy could be enforced against those who aren't elected to office, Sisolak said.

"I don't know how you can hold anyone to the standards of office once you're out," he said. "I don't know if we can technically hold a former commissioner to this."

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani initially requested the policy change to stop commissioners from acting as paid consultants or lobbyists for people or businesses that deal with state and local government. Giunchigliani, who could not be reached for comment because she was out of the country, has said the issue was more about whom the commission can regulate.

The change seemed to be a reaction to Collins' recent lobbying conflict over a $600 million bus contract. Collins engaged in a monthlong consulting and lobbying relationship with Veolia Transportation, a company that bid on the contract. He quit the position, but he still runs a consulting company. The Regional Transportation Commission has since rebid the contract.

Collins has said he saw nothing wrong with working for Veolia, which approached him.

The debate over whether commissioners should have outside employment while holding their part-time jobs on the board seemed personal at times. Giunchigliani stopped short of calling her actions a direct response to Collins' relationship with Veolia, although some county officials said otherwise.

And Collins suggested adding "any public-sector employment" to prohibit someone from serving as a commissioner while on leave from a government job, as does Giunchigliani, a schoolteacher.

"We don't have an issue with somebody's spouse or member of a household," Sisolak said. "But let's develop a policy now rather than let someone feel it's directed at them."