Metro Councilman Charlie Tygard has introduced a competing ethics bill which he says streamlines the bill sponsored by fellow councilman David Briley.
Briley’s bill has been floundering in council meetings over the past few weeks as differences are worked out over things such as financial disclosure of family members, and the composition of the ethics board which would be the enforcement arm.
Tygard says his bill builds on the existing ethics policies already in use for Metro Council.
“So rather than throwing the entire ordinance out and starting from scratch, and ending up with a ten page, rather bulky document that tries to define each and every instance that might occur, this is a simplified version of what we’ve been already using for the last 40 years.”
Tygard says his bill is largely the same as Briley’s, but takes a more generalized approach to financial disclosure. Tygard took issue with a provision in Briley’s bill requiring disclosure of any client making up more than 15-percent of a council person’s income. Tygard says this provision effectively applies to only self-employed people, leaving those who work for corporations at an unfair advantage.
Metro Council will hear Tygard’s bill on first reading tonight. The state legislature also continues crafting its ethics policy, with a meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethics today and tomorrow in Nashville.
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