A comparative analysis of the state ethics laws of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Because numerous public officials have been convicted during the past decade for violating ethics and corrupt practices laws, questions have arisen about the effectiveness of these laws. In order to determine the composition of an effective state ethics law, several issues were addressed in this study including: Against what criteria should a state's law be assessed to determine its effectiveness? Can a more effective state ethics law be created than already exists? How does one state's law compare to the laws of other states? To answer these questions, the ethics laws of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee were examined.;In this study, Max Weber's "ideal type construct" was used as a basis for the research methodology. To develop a model ethics law, a content analysis of ethics-related literature determined which components, or antecedent variables, should be included. The seven variables selected represent the general categories described in Weber's construct and include: ethics commission structure and authority, penalties for ethics law violations, restrictions on gifts, favors, and inducements, conflict of interest provisions, revolving door policy, lobbyist requirements and restrictions, and financial disclosure requirements. To determine how each variable should be specifically stated, the ethics commission executive directors and assistants for the five states were administered a survey listing the provisions of the existing state laws, the 1975 Alabama ethics law, and the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws model as possible alternatives for each variable. Survey respondents ranked each provision with the highest scoring alternatives put in the final version of the model law. This model was then used to evaluate the effectiveness of the five state ethics codes.;The major findings of the study include: (1) Weber's "ideal type construct" remains a valid methodological approach for social science research; (2) a model state ethics laws could be developed in operational terms and supported by academic literature that could be more effective than existing laws; and (3) state ethics laws could be compared and ranked from most to least effective.