3D ago
5 sources
Across multiple states in 2025, legislators and governors from both parties killed or watered down reforms on gift limits, conflict disclosures, and lobbyist transparency, while some legislatures curtailed ethics commissions’ powers. The trend suggests a coordinated, if decentralized, retreat from accountability mechanisms amid already eroding national ethics norms. Experts warn tactics are getting more creative, making enforcement harder.
— A bipartisan, multi‑state rollback of ethics rules reshapes how corruption is deterred and enforced, undermining public trust and the credibility of democratic institutions.
Sources: Lawmakers Across the Country This Year Blocked Ethics Reforms Meant to Increase Public Trust, Rachel Reeves should resign., Minnesota’s long road to restitution (+2 more)