State Senator Ed Charbonneau has introduced three bills in the Indiana Senate and hopes all three will play a role in improving ethics in Indianapolis.
According to a press release from Charbonneau’s offices, the bills authored by the Valparaiso Republican will promote stronger ethics by ensuring a quicker recovery for misappropriated funds, providing protections for whistleblowers, and giving greater options for filling clerk-treasurer seats at the local level.
Each of the bills has already passed the state Senate.
According to a briefing on the bill, one of the bills would require government personnel with access to public funds to file a bond maintained in a database. The move would allow the State Board of Accounts to more quickly identify misappropriated accounts.
If signed into law, local governments would also be allowed to have a member of the town’s legislative body to serve as a temporary clerk-treasurer in the instance a vacancy is difficult to fill.
Charbonneau says the legislation answers calls by multiple coalitions and government officials to make reforms.
