Legislature Should Pass Law Prohibiting Elected Officials and Relatives from Receiving Rebuilding Contracts Treasurer Kennedy Says Louisiana Must Prove It Is Better Than Reputation BATON ROUGE, LA – State Treasurer John Kennedy is calling on the Louisiana Legislature to pass a law, or Governor Blanco to issue an Executive Order, prohibiting elected and appointed officials and their relatives from receiving contracts to work on Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts. “This may seem unfair to some, but it is necessary in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety,” said Treasurer Kennedy. “Unfortunately, perception is sometimes reality, and now is the time to prove that Louisiana is better than its reputation.” Treasurer Kennedy is asking that state and local public officials and members of their immediate family (as defined in the Ethics Code) be prohibited from receiving any of the work associated with Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts, even if contracts are subject to public bid. In addition, if a state or local official or relative owns a 5 percent or greater interest in a company or legal entity, that company or entity should be prohibited from receiving rebuilding contracts. “There should be no exceptions, even if contracts are publicly bid,” said Treasurer Kennedy. “The entire rebuilding process should be transparent to the federal government and to taxpayers. Louisiana is going to be held to the highest standard when it comes to this process – and we should be.” ### |
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