Had she been the state representative from Irwin, Ira or Irving Township rather than Irving, Linda Harper-Brown would have been immune to the ethics complaint recently filed against her.
Harper-Brown’s political opponents have asked the state Ethics Commission to rule on whether she was required to report to the commission as compensation her use of a Mercedes-Benz E550. The car was one of two vehicles given to her husband for his use in exchange for accounting work he had done for a Dallas company.
The member of the House Transportation Committee was criticized for driving a car owned by a company with millions of dollars in contracts with the Texas Department of Transportation,. However, the ethics complaint pivots on whether Harper-Brown’s driving the car constituted something called actual control of a family asset, which would have required her to make a financial disclosure to the state.
But in Irwin, Idaho, Ira, Vt., or Irving Township, Mich., Harper-Brown, R-Irving, would be required by their state laws to disclose nothing. These are the only states in the Union with no financial disclosure requirements, according to a list compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures and dated March 2008.
Most of the states, 32 of them, require financial disclosure from their elected officials, their spouses and children. Texas is among seven states that require the official to file income and compensation reports and have requirements for spouses, but include specific conditions.
Another eight states require only that the elected official file financial disclosure forms.
For more on this issue, check out these stories:
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown's idea to close spousal loophole met with officials' silence
Author of sweeping ethics bill Jim Nugent reflects on political climate around 1973 ethics legislation and spousal loophole
Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org.
Harper-Brown’s political opponents have asked the state Ethics Commission to rule on whether she was required to report to the commission as compensation her use of a Mercedes-Benz E550. The car was one of two vehicles given to her husband for his use in exchange for accounting work he had done for a Dallas company.
The member of the House Transportation Committee was criticized for driving a car owned by a company with millions of dollars in contracts with the Texas Department of Transportation,. However, the ethics complaint pivots on whether Harper-Brown’s driving the car constituted something called actual control of a family asset, which would have required her to make a financial disclosure to the state.
But in Irwin, Idaho, Ira, Vt., or Irving Township, Mich., Harper-Brown, R-Irving, would be required by their state laws to disclose nothing. These are the only states in the Union with no financial disclosure requirements, according to a list compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures and dated March 2008.
Most of the states, 32 of them, require financial disclosure from their elected officials, their spouses and children. Texas is among seven states that require the official to file income and compensation reports and have requirements for spouses, but include specific conditions.
Another eight states require only that the elected official file financial disclosure forms.
For more on this issue, check out these stories:
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown's idea to close spousal loophole met with officials' silence
Author of sweeping ethics bill Jim Nugent reflects on political climate around 1973 ethics legislation and spousal loophole
Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org.
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