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Saturday, April 23, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - Governor defends gifts, ad group campaign

"Governor defends gifts: Daniels answers critics who ask if he's broken his own rules by accepting RV, trip" is the headline to a story today in the Indianapolis Star by Mary Beth Schneider. Some quotes:

Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday there's no comparison between the ban on gifts that state employees must follow and the recreational vehicle and free jet trip he has accepted since taking office.

Both were not personal gifts to him, but instead were donations to the state enabling him to conduct state business, the governor said.

"I won't say I resent the question, but I find it very misguided," Daniels told reporters.

As a candidate, Daniels called for higher ethics standards in state government. And as governor, he has followed through with bans on all gifts from people and companies who do business or are seeking to do business with the state.

Last week, the State Ethics Commission fined and reprimanded some state employees for violating that ban.

One -- Rodger McKinley, superintendent of the Madison Correctional Facility, was fined $100 for accepting a $20 hat and two meals worth less than $10 from employees of the public health contractor for the state's prison system.

The fines for seemingly small infractions led some in the public to question why Daniels could accept the loan of a $175,000 recreational vehicle along with free soy biodiesel to fuel it; a free private jet trip to Washington while on state business; and an autographed football from Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. * * *

Asked where he draws the line between accepting something that saves taxpayers money and refusing something for fear it was given to influence a state decision, Daniels snapped: "I think your thinking is totally confused."

The line is clear, he said: No gifts from people who want something from the state. That line, though, can seem fuzzy.

Manning gave footballs to Daniels and House and Senate leaders at a time when the Colts were lobbying hard for funding for a new stadium. And the recreational vehicle industry is lobbying for a sales tax exemption on RVs made and purchased in Indiana.

Jay Stewart, executive director of the Chicago-based Better Government Association -- a group the Daniels campaign favorably cited during the 2004 campaign for its report on ethics in state government -- said appearances matter. The average citizen, he said, "doesn't understand the finer points of ethics laws" and won't see why a state employee gets fined for taking a baseball cap while the governor gets to accept an RV.

"Gifts just create problems," Stewart said, adding that in some states, they have led to scandals. "That," he said, "is why people are skeptical. It's well-deserved."

"Daniels defending ad group’s campaign" is the headline to a story today by Niki Kelly in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:
A non-profit group pushing parts of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ agenda is accepting money from corporations in larger amounts than state campaign finance laws would allow and has not registered with the state lobbying commission.

Aiming Higher Inc. – run by former campaign manager Bill Oesterle, a Terre Haute attorney and a state senator – is a public advocacy non-profit group.

Oesterle and the governor’s office contend they are doing nothing wrong.

Aiming Higher Inc. has been financed by money left over from Daniels’ transition committee, which raised $826,000 for the transition and inaugural events. About $558,000 was spent, and the remaining $267,000 was transferred to Aiming Higher in mid-February. * * *

The group first paid almost $45,000 for public opinion polls on some of Daniels’ priorities and on Wednesday began running $70,000 worth of radio ads statewide that feature Daniels urging Hoosiers to contact their legislators to vote for a balanced budget. The ads were even the governor’s idea.

Oesterle said they are also using campaign supporters who favored daylight-saving time to contact their local lawmakers and urge them to vote for the controversial bill.

“This was created as an advocacy group,” he said. “None of the activities we are engaged in advocate any specific thing. These are the governor’s stated positions.”

The contributions to the transition committee, which are now financing Aiming Higher, included hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Indiana and out-of-state corporations. For instance, Eli Lilly and Co. – a former Daniels employer – has given $35,000.

DaimlerChrysler Corp. and Altria Corporate Services Inc. have each given $25,000. Altria is the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris, and legislators are currently considering a cigarette tax increase that Daniels would likely have to sign off on.

If these companies were to give directly to Daniels’ campaign committee, they would be limited to $5,000 each.

“These are crafty souls,” said Rep. Win Moses Jr., D- Fort Wayne. “It is really atrocious. It may be technically legal, but it certainly breaks the spirit of the law and sets a whole new standard on partisan shenanigans.”

Another intriguing donation was $10,000 from the Indianapolis Colts in February.

Daniels has been credited in recent weeks with bringing together all sides and making a financing deal for a new Colts stadium possible. He also has committed millions in state tax dollars to the project. * * *

It is also unclear whether Aiming Higher – if not a political action committee – should be registered with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission.

The definition of lobbying in state code means “communicating by any means, or paying others to communicate by any means, with any legislative official with the purpose of influencing legislative action.”

Oesterle said he doesn’t believe it is required to register because it isn’t speaking directly with lawmakers.

“We have not registered as lobbyists for the simple reason we don’t have any employees and you register as a lobbyist if you are employing someone else to lobby or you are being employed to lobby,” he said. “We fall under a grass-roots lobbying exception.”

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 23, 2005 08:24 AM
Posted to Indiana Government