Statehouses Undercut Ethics Oversight

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.

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Lawmakers Across the Country This Year Blocked Ethics Reforms Meant to Increase Public Trust

by Gabriel Sandoval, ProPublica, with additional reporting by Nick Reynolds and Anna Wilder, The Post and Courier; Yasmeen Khan, The Maine Monitor; Lauren Dake, Oregon Public Broadcasting; Marjorie Childress, New Mexico In Depth; Louis Hansen, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO; Mary Steurer and Jacob Orledge, North Dakota Monitor; Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune; Alyse Pfeil, The Advocate | The Times-Picayune; and Shauna Sowersby, The Seattle Times 2025.10.01 100% relevant

Examples include Virginia killing a crypto‑disclosure bill for lawmakers, New Mexico’s governor vetoing lobbyist transparency, and North Dakota lawmakers limiting their ethics commission.