Media
No Takers For Honor Code At Lesiglature
January 4, 2013 
Despite coming off a year that included members being charged with or convicted of lying, cheating, and stealing none of the leadership would go on record at a Friday media conference to adopt of a version of the West Point honor code as the foundation for ethical behavior among legislators.
The GUARDIAN noted lawmakers will be working on ethics issues next week – all legislators will go through an unprecedented half-day of ethics training – Senate President Pro-tem Brent Hill said, “We’re always working on ethics issues.”
House Speaker Scott Bedke said a draft revised ethics rule is “circulating in the House” and likely will be addressed early in the session. “It would include a formal standing ethics committee,” he said, along with provisions regarding “how they would carry out their responsibilities.” He said he would not endorse adopting the honor code per se.
Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, said Idaho is one of the few states without an independent ethics committee to oversee lawmakers’ conduct, and it should establish one. She was more receptive to the “simple language” of the honor code or something similar.
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Comments & Discussion
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Jan 4, 2013, 4:06 pm
David
I appreciate your honor code for it’s simplicity and the fact it puts the onus on the actor, not the code.
It’s typical of lawyers and legislators to excuse their behavior with “I didn’t break the law!”
What they are really saying is they didn’t break the letter of the law even though they trampled on the spirit of the law.
Your honor code very clearly indicates “we both know that what is right and what is wrong is not the same as what is legal and what is not.”
This charade of a four-hour seminar on ethics only makes it more clear that these are men who cannot be trusted to do what is honorable.
Jan 5, 2013, 11:55 am
Did anyone expect anything different? They are elected officials thus in their humble opinions they are above those petty rules that the masses have to abide by. Are you cake eaters not capable of understanding that?
Jan 7, 2013, 6:02 pm
Why would the Idaho Clown Posse want to change anything now. They don’t have proof ethics actually work.
Jan 7, 2013, 6:13 pm
and I suppose your cali govt runs better… right.. dawg
Jan 7, 2013, 9:29 pm
What is cali?
EDITOR NOTE–Assume it is the big state where many Idahoans come from. As their formerGovernor calls it, “CALY FORN YA.”
Jan 19, 2013, 4:48 pm
I’m sorry I assumed you all would know what cali stood for since that is what most of you call the state from which you migrated.