AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine lawmakers on Wednesday are scheduled to debate a bill aimed at strengthening state’s ethics code for executive branch officers and employees, including those who run the biggest departments in state government.
The bill is the result of a document-shredding scandal that erupted after a 2012 Sun Journal records request that sought information from the Maine Centers for Disease regarding funding awards for the state’s 27 Healthy Maine Partnerships.
Instead of providing the documents sought by the newspaper, Maine CDC supervisors ordered the documents destroyed. One employee refused, and she ultimately filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit.
A 2014 investigation by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, ordered by the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, found, among other things, that CDC officials ordered documents destroyed and created others to fulfill the Sun Journal’s request.
The investigation also revealed that several CDC employees grappled with the ethics of the situation but were unsure how to handle it. Those who went to supervisors found little help.
“Our comprehensive review of the CDC document-shredding scandal showed a significant lapse in ethical guidelines for state employees under the LePage administration,” Rep. Chuck Kruger, D-Thomaston, said in a prepared statement issued Tuesday.
Kruger, the chief sponsor of the bill and the House chairman of the Government Oversight Committee, said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree the state needs “stronger and more clear ethics guidelines for employees.”
“The incidents of shredding documents and employee intimidation are unacceptable,” Kruger said.
His measure would require the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to develop a consolidated code of ethics and conduct for state employees. I would also require the department to implement procedures for employees who need guidance on ethics or want to report ethics violations.
Some lawmakers and LePage’s administration have balked at the estimated $1 million cost of the new rule, but Kruger is expected to introduce an amendment to the bill to drastically reduce the measure’s price tag.
“Setting a stronger ethical standard shouldn’t cost the taxpayers a million dollars,” Kruger said.