McCormick releases ethics plan with focus on lobbying reform
Jennifer McCormick, the Democratic nominee for governor, speaks at the Indiana Democratic Convention on July 13, 2024. McCormick released an ethics plan Thursday, with a focus on regulating lobbying and increasing government transparency. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Democrat gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick released an ethics plan Thursday, with a focus on increasing transparency, regulating lobbying and accountability for elected officials at the state and local level.
“Hoosiers deserve a transparent, ethical government above reproach,” McCormick said in a release. “Our commonsense plan addresses erosion in public access and transparency, better regulates special interests’ influence of government, locks the legislator to lobbyist revolving door in the Statehouse, and provides a reporting mechanism for sexual harassment.”
In a press conference, McCormick said the plan would have the “highest of standards in our government” and “bring back trust” in state government.
“Because when we have those systems in place, then we’re not only protecting Hoosiers as individuals — but we’re also protecting our dollars and the expenditure of that. It also is a real reflection of our state’s reputation,” McCormick said.
The lack of appetite for reform came from decades of one-party rule under Republicans, McCormick said.
“… over 60% of Hoosiers do not like the direction in which our state is going, and a big piece of that is they don’t trust our elected officials,” McCormick said. “And that is extremely concerning on so many levels.”
Aspects of the plan include removing lobbyists from politically appointed committee positions as well as standardizing campaign finance reporting and annually filed statements of economic interest.
Under the plan, paid lobbyists will face increased regulation that prohibits them from gifting “anything” of value to someone in the legislature, including cups of coffee. The proposal would create criminal penalties for both lobbyists and “legislative persons” to enforce the ban.
Current law allows gifts but they must be reported.
“… this would be a complete ban on (lobbyist) gifts. You know, they’re there to advocate; it shouldn’t be an entertainment system. I have watched too often where people get real comfortable in taking some big gifts and that is concerning,” McCormick said.
In her release, McCormick pointed to the often fancy meals legislators received on lobbyist money, saying, “It’s common sense that legislators shouldn’t be getting free suite tickets and steak dinners from lobbyists; that’s not advocacy, that’s entertainment,” said McCormick.
Last year, Seymour gun manufacturer Fostech Inc. offered Republican legislators a limited edition, customized AR-15-style rifle for half off. No legislators took the company up on the offer and Fostech was fined for not registering as a lobbyist.
According to a 2023 investigation from State Affairs Indiana, lobbyists spent roughly $1 million entertaining lawmakers last year, including Pacers tickets, expensive meals and dinner cruises.
Additional regulations would bar registered lobbyists from holding positions on political committees. Currently, state party chairs are banned from being registered lobbyists and public office holders cannot become lobbyists until one year after leaving the General Assembly. McCormick would extend the prohibition up to three years.
More plan details
The Democrat also calls for a move to “restore the legal bias” toward public disclosure. Lawmakers weakened the role of the Public Access Counselor tasked with making these rulings in the last session. State lawmakers, who are currently exempt from public disclosure, would also be bound to follow Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act.
Two ongoing projects that would have benefited from more disclosure, and more public input, include the LEAP project in Boone County and the mid-state corridor.
Part of that distrust, McCormick said, was rooted in delayed requests for information along with the perceived lack of independent data — including with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. McCormick said the lack of transparency with the quasi-public agency “would fall under the governor.”
“Once I get elected, I will be ultra transparent,” she said.
The foundation arm of the IEDC funds international travel costs for the governor, including Gov. Eric Holcomb’s visit to Ukraine. But it doesn’t disclose all its donors.
Indiana’s campaign finance reporting would face additional scrutiny, centralizing all reports with the state’s election division rather than its 92 county election boards and standardizing quarterly reporting requirements in both election and non-election years.
McCormick would also require statements of economic interest forms be filed with the state election commission. The Indiana Capital Chronicle reviewed all 150 forms in 2023, finding inconsistencies and opportunities to obscure the financial ties of legislators. No action was taken following the investigation.
“We have 93 different systems — 92 counties use their own and then you have the state — and we’re saying, ‘Get it down to one system with the same reporting mechanism,’” McCormick said. “Knowing that these reports will look a little different but going into the same agency.”
Both campaign finance and statements of economic interest for candidates and office holders at state and local levels would move to the bipartisan State Election Division.
Lastly, the ethics plan proposes establishing a confidential sexual harassment reporting process with the state’s inspector general that would include locally elected and appointed officials as well as lobbyists. Following an investigation, the state office would inform the state ethics committee of findings and refer to a prosecutor “if criminal actions are warranted.”
Findings related to elected officials who are alleged to be harassers would be public. This comes on the heels of a sexual harassment scandal in the office of Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, whose former top aide Thomas Cook is accused of harassing at least three women.
Nearly a month ago, McCormick condemned Cook and Hogsett’s actions in a campaign press release.
“The allegations of Thomas Cook’s pattern of sexual harassment are deeply troubling, and I unequivocally condemn his actions,” said McCormick in the release. “Mayor Hogsett’s apparent failure to address these issues appropriately highlights a systemic problem that demands a systematic solution. The women involved were let down by both individuals and the system, and their pain must be acknowledged. Both parties have issues of sexual misconduct that demonstrate the importance of transparency and accountability in leadership. We owe it to those affected and to all Hoosiers to create a safer and more accountable environment.”
McCormick acknowledged in the press conference that going through the Inspector General’s Office would be more of a reporting mechanism to help those who might feel “powerless” when confronted with local reporting systems.
“This is long overdue for the state of Indiana. We can point back at the Curtis Hill issue. We can point to Hogsett,” McCormick said.
Former Attorney General Curtis Hill had his law license suspended while in office following reports of sexual battery that occurred at a Sine Die celebration in 2018.
The road ahead for the proposal
Most of the proposals would need buy-in from state legislators, many of whom benefit from the status quo and may be unwilling to adopt McCormick’s ethics plan. Additionally, as a Democrat, McCormick would face an uphill battle advancing her agenda through the Republican-controlled bodies.
“I question why individuals would not welcome a plan that is common sense and that would hold all of us — everyone — accountable to the same level of transparency and accountability,” McCormick said. “We’re not extreme on this plan; it has been mirrored in other states. So it would be at the will of our elected officials.”
Some actions could be taken by McCormick alone if elected governor but others would require buy-in from politicians across the aisle.
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“I just firmly believe that we are there to serve Hoosiers and that requires that we are all held to a very high standard,” McCormick said.
The campaign of McCormick’s chief opponent, Republican gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, said McCormick wouldn’t be able to pull through on her proposal and pointed to his achievements in Washington D.C.
“Rather than just talking about reforms in a campaign press release, Mike Braun took action: he wrote the federal ban on lobbying for former members of Congress, forced votes to cut every corrupt earmark from every spending bill, and has fought constantly for transparency in government at the highest levels for Hoosiers,” said Josh Kelley, a campaign senior advisor.
“Jennifer McCormick is a say anything, do nothing politician.”
The Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act has been introduced at least twice — once in 2021 and again in 2023 — but hasn’t advanced. Former members of Congress would face a permanent ban from federal lobbying, rather than the one-year ban for House Representatives and the two-year ban for Senators.
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