Committee On Legislative

Conclusion of the Joint CommitteeThe Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics (Joint Committee), pursuant to the December 3, 1997 request of the Presiding Officers of the General Assembly to conduct a thorough review of recent allegations of improprieties on the part of Senator Larry Young and to investigate all aspects of the Senator's business practices as they relate to his position in the legislature, submits its report with recommendations to the president...

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics has decided not to investigate allegations that Sen. Richard F. Colburn required a former aide to write college term papers for him, the senator's lawyer said yesterday. The former aide, Gregory Dukes, requested that the committee investigate his allegations, but Colburn attorney Timothy Maloney said the committee wrote to the Eastern Shore Republican to say it was dismissing the complaint. "He got a letter saying they were not investigating," Maloney said.

Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin says he is optimistic the General Assembly will approve without major changes a study panel's recommendations for changing Maryland's ethics laws.Cardin, a Baltimore-area Democrat and former speaker of the House of Delegates, was chairman of the study committee, which met for the last time yesterday to review the language of its legislative proposal.The General Assembly is expected to take up the proposal as one of its first orders of business after it convenes Jan. 13. The state's two top legislative leaders have promised to work to get the proposals passed.

Several members of the legislature's ethics committee said yesterday that Del. Tony E. Fulton's conduct, as he described it during his federal court trial, tarnished the reputation of the General Assembly. But the committee took no formal action, and the panel's co-chairmen would not say whether they are investigating the West Baltimore Democrat. A U.S. District Court jury acquitted Fulton in July of six counts of mail fraud but deadlocked on five others in a case that involved an alleged scheme to help Annapolis lobbyist Gerard E. Evans defraud some of Evans' clients.

A state ethics panel has grounded "frequent flier"-style incentive programs used by Annapolis hotels to attract legislators' business.The downtown hotels that cater to more than 100 lawmakers who live in Annapolis during the 90-day session offer discounts on merchandise,free stays at other hotels and even family vacations in Cancun to their best clients, said Del. Kenneth Montague, chairman of the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics."

SenatorGerald W. WinegradDemocratMember of the Senate since 1983.Committee: Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee (chairman, environmental subcommittee), Joint committee on Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas and Joint Committee on Leglisative Ethics.Age: 47Profession: LawyerHometown: AnnapolisAnnapolis office: 401 James Building, Annapolis, 21401Phone: 841-3578DelegateJohn C. AstleDemocratMember of the House of Delegates since 1983Committee: Appropriations Committee (vice-chairman of transportation and law enforcementsubcommittee)

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics has decided not to investigate allegations that Sen. Richard F. Colburn required a former aide to write college term papers for him, the senator's lawyer said yesterday. The former aide, Gregory Dukes, requested that the committee investigate his allegations, but Colburn attorney Timothy Maloney said the committee wrote to the Eastern Shore Republican to say it was dismissing the complaint. "He got a letter saying they were not investigating," Maloney said.

A member of the legislative ethics panel investigating Sen. Larry Young has past business ties to a company that has contributed to two of Young's organizations.Records show that Sen. Decatur W. Trotter, a member of the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, was a marketing representative in 1995 for Diagnostic Health Imaging Services in Prince George's County. The Lanham-based company is affiliated with PrimeHealth, a health maintenance organization.PrimeHealth was one of the sponsors of a Las Vegas convention Young organized last month.

The legislature's ethics committee last night advised two senators with ties to the law firm of Peter G. Angelos that they should abstain from voting on the controversial tobacco legislation pending in the General Assembly.The committee agreed that Sens. Norman R. Stone Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat, and C. Edward Middlebrooks, an Anne Arundel County Republican, should not vote on the legislation because each has a "close economic association" with the Angelos firm, which is handling the state's legal case against the tobacco industry.

EVEN THOUGH Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson has held public office for more than a year, he seems woefully uninformed about basic rules of conduct as a state legislator. His latest mishap involving collecting campaign contributions during the General Assembly session can't be dismissed as mere ignorance of procedures, as he would like.The rule in Annapolis is clear: No fund-raisers are to be held and no tickets for future fund-raisers are to be sold while the legislature is in session. Concerned with the appearance of propriety, legislative leaders instituted that prohibition in 1988.

Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin says he is optimistic the General Assembly will approve without major changes a study panel's recommendations for changing Maryland's ethics laws.Cardin, a Baltimore-area Democrat and former speaker of the House of Delegates, was chairman of the study committee, which met for the last time yesterday to review the language of its legislative proposal.The General Assembly is expected to take up the proposal as one of its first orders of business after it convenes Jan. 13. The state's two top legislative leaders have promised to work to get the proposals passed.

The legislature's ethics committee has concluded that two Baltimore lawmakers did not violate state law by pushing for more than $1 million in subsidies to a project that is headed by their chief political strategist.In a closed meeting last week, the panel briefly discussed a 7-month-old complaint that Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden and Del. Hattie N. Harrison had inappropriately boosted the development project of a woman who is their campaign treasurer and leader of their political club.Members of the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics decided there was no suggestion either lawmaker had benefited personally, and chose not to conduct a formal investigation.

The legislature's ethics committee last night advised two senators with ties to the law firm of Peter G. Angelos that they should abstain from voting on the controversial tobacco legislation pending in the General Assembly.The committee agreed that Sens. Norman R. Stone Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat, and C. Edward Middlebrooks, an Anne Arundel County Republican, should not vote on the legislation because each has a "close economic association" with the Angelos firm, which is handling the state's legal case against the tobacco industry.

In the beginning, Larry Young had almost everything a legislator needs: a knack for the political game, respected mentors who could help him move up and the ability to master complicated material."

Conclusion of the Joint CommitteeThe Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics (Joint Committee), pursuant to the December 3, 1997 request of the Presiding Officers of the General Assembly to conduct a thorough review of recent allegations of improprieties on the part of Senator Larry Young and to investigate all aspects of the Senator's business practices as they relate to his position in the legislature, submits its report with recommendations to the president...

The General Assembly's ethics committee recommended yesterday that Sen. Larry Young be stripped of virtually all his legislative influence and face a vote on expulsion from the Senate after finding he "betrayed the public trust" by using his office to benefit his private businesses.After receiving the committee's report, Senate President Thomas Mike Miller and 16 other ranking senators decided unanimously last night to support the expulsion of Young in a vote that would likely come next week.

Longtime Del. Hattie N. Harrison accepted an unreported $2,000 loan from Annapolis lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano in 1990 in an apparent violation of state ethics laws.Ms. Harrison, a Baltimore Democrat and the first black woman to chair a House committee, said yesterday that she did not report the loan on her financial-disclosure forms because the money was for a friend in financial trouble rather than for her own use."It was simply a loan that was made for a young lady who was very close to me; she was in desperate need," Ms. Harrison said.

Several members of the legislature's ethics committee said yesterday that Del. Tony E. Fulton's conduct, as he described it during his federal court trial, tarnished the reputation of the General Assembly. But the committee took no formal action, and the panel's co-chairmen would not say whether they are investigating the West Baltimore Democrat. A U.S. District Court jury acquitted Fulton in July of six counts of mail fraud but deadlocked on five others in a case that involved an alleged scheme to help Annapolis lobbyist Gerard E. Evans defraud some of Evans' clients.

The Joint Committee concludes that Senator Young violated numerous ethical standards within the jurisdiction of the Joint Committee. Because of the seriousness, scope and consistent pattern of the violations examined above, the Joint Committee issues its recommendations for appropriate sanctions.Senator Larry Young has served in the Maryland General Assembly with legislative distinction for 24 years. In his testimony before the Joint Committee on January 6, 1998, Senator Young spoke of his educational background and stated that he is "not heavy educationally, but I attended one of the best colleges and universities of learning anywhere, the Maryland General Assembly."

In the end, consensus was reached relatively easily.For the 12 legislators put in the often-uncomfortable position of judging the ethics of a peer, that might have been the biggest surprise of the Larry Young debate."