March 21, 2006 - The Equality State Policy Center believes the Wyoming Department of Agriculture violated the state Ethics and Disclosure Act this year when it sent out a package of lobbying materials to state Predatory Animal Boards urging them to galvanize support for a bill slated for consideration by the Wyoming Legislature.

Our study of the department’s ethical breach found a lack of understanding of the law and little clarity in how to comply with it.
 
The ethics statute prohibits public employees from using public funds, time, personnel, facilities or equipment for political activity. Violators can be convicted of a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000. A conviction is grounds for dismissal of a public employee.

Simply put, we have this law so that tax-paying citizens can be assured they are not paying for special interest lobbying efforts.

The packet of materials distributed by the Agriculture Department in January contained an “Action Alert” that asked recipients to “Please call your legislators now! If they don’t hear from you, this bill may be lost.” A department staffer prepared several CDs included in the packet. One contained sample letters to send to legislators and to editors of newspapers to make the case for the bill publicly. 

The department’s activity was questioned by someone who saw the packet. Ultimately, the Governor’s Office was made aware of the department’s actions. On Feb. 1, Agriculture Department Director John Etchepare sent a letter to the county predatory animal boards in which he acknowledged the department had made a mistake.

To his credit, Mr. Etchepare has promised to develop guidelines for his department. The Wyoming Association of County Predatory Animal Boards later sent a check to the state to reimburse the postage costs of the mailing, if not the manpower costs.

Unfortunately, the letter causes deeper concerns because it reveals a lack of understanding of the state’s ethics law. 

In his letter, Mr. Etchepare described the original mailing as a mere “clerical error.” He also expresses regret “… in passing through this information under the wrong heading in this instance,” apparently believing that simply changing letterhead would have made the department’s actions legal.

The state must take action to prevent such violations in the future. We could not find any procedures outlining how to comply other than reliance on the good judgment of each public official and employee. Rules and guidelines are obviously needed. Efforts to generate 14,000 letters to legislators – the stated purpose of the Agriculture Department’s mailing – clearly violate the law. Nevertheless, department heads and public officials at all levels of government need to be able to testify to the Legislature when proposed laws will somehow affect their ability to carry out their public mission.

The state needs a better way to assure compliance with this law, which is critical to maintaining public confidence in elected officials and public employees.

We believe Gov. Dave Freudenthal should:

• Ask the Office of the Attorney General to investigate the Agriculture Department’s lobbying activities, prepare a public report, and determine whether discipline or a fine is warranted. 
• Use an executive order or an Attorney General opinion to define the rules for compliance with the Ethics and Disclosure Act. All public officials, public members and public officials should operate under the same rules.
• Following the promulgation of rules, develop a clear set of guidelines explaining how allegations of ethics violations should be reported and enforced 

The Agriculture Department’s illegal lobbying was a major mistake that should not be swept under the carpet and must not be repeated. The governor should step forward to protect the public’s right to good government that serves all Wyoming citizens fairly. 

The Equality State Policy Center, a broad-based coalition of Wyoming interests, works through research, public education and advocacy to hold Wyoming state and local governments accountable to the people they represent, and to encourage and assist state residents to participate effectively in public policy decision-making.
Contact: Dan Neal, executive director, 307-472-5939  dneal@equalitystate.org 
 

State of Wyoming website  Governor Dave Freudenthal's homepage