Legislative Ethics

“After the 2024 election, the General Assembly should seriously consider whether the process for selecting board members needs to be changed. This should be a wake-up call,” Morgan Drayton, policy and engagement manager at the nonpartisan government watchdog group Common Cause Maryland, said in a statement. “It is sickening to think that Ayala was making decisions about our elections after allegedly participating in the attempted insurrection. His disrespect for the voices of Maryland voters and his disregard for the peaceful transfer of power stands in direct contrast to the duties of the Board of Elections.”

Gavin Geis, executive director for Common Cause Nebraska, said the current rules serve as a safeguard that ensures a balanced approach to redistricting, a process that has received heavy scrutiny across the country for over-politicization. "The removal of party registration as a factor in selecting committee members may lead to a lack of diversity in thought and perspective, resulting in skewed representation that doesn't accurately (represent) the political landscape of our state," Geis said.

Sean McMorris, transparency, ethics and accountability program manager at California Common Cause, questioned why staff, rather than the commissioners, didn’t talk to Ardent. “If the meeting was to hash out the contract and tell the company that they’re going to vote for them, and what the contract would look like — that sort of thing shouldn’t be happening in a private forum,” he said. “Even if it’s legal, it doesn’t seem appropriate,” McMorris added.

John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said the bill limit might amount to "inside baseball" for the legislature. "But it's incredibly important inside baseball because it affects how representatives are able to represent their constituents," he said. "When you watch 'School House Rock,' no one says, 'That poor bill sitting on Capitol Hill can only have 14 friends,' " Marion said, referring to a series of educational cartoons that ran on Saturday morning TV in the 1970s and '80s, including "I'm Just A Bill," on how a bill becomes a law. Marion said it's understandable why the House wants to cap the number of bills each member can introduce. "Agendas have gotten terribly long in recent years and hearings are continuing late into the night," he said. "Too often, the sponsors of the bills themselves don't even show up for the hearings because they're in another committee or have left the building and gone to a fundraiser." But, Marion said, "Any limit needs to be weighed against the fact that introducing legislation is one of the primary means by which legislators represent their constituents. The 16th good idea a legislator has shouldn't necessarily have to wait until next year. There should be reasonable exceptions to any limit." Marion said some bills are poorly drafted, stand little chance of passage, and appear aimed only at making headlines. "But it doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to put that bill in," he said. And Marion said the bill limit should not become yet another thing, such as office assignments and parking spaces, that legislative leaders can use to reward or punish individual members. "Any limits should come with clear exceptions," he said, "and those should be debated and codified in the House rules."

“The time has come to enact some commonsense reforms… and enter the modern era,” said Mario Jimenez, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico. “The public is behind it, and the reforms are long overdue.” The organization’s survey showed that 64% of respondents supported legislator salaries, and 70% supported longer sessions. Support cut across party and regional lines.

The North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, Common Cause North Carolina—an organization to protect voting rights, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, filed the lawsuit accusing North Carolina’s state Senate, House, and board of elections of discriminatory gerrymandering. “In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly redrew its state legislative and congressional plans to severely diminish the voting power of North Carolina’s Black voters,” the lawsuit stated. “The General Assembly achieved this by intentionally dismantling existing and longstanding Black opportunity districts and diluting Black voting power.” The lawsuit claims Black voters were purposefully targeted throughout the state, violating the Voting Rights Act and 14th and 15th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.