State Rep. Eric Turner won the battle, but lost the war.
Last week, House Speaker Brian Bosma announced that Turner, R-Cicero, would stripped of his leadership role as speaker pro tem after the November elections, assuming he defeats Democratic challenger Bob Ashley, who has used Turner’s ethics scandals as a hammer against him.
Earlier in August, HealthLease Properties, part of Mainstreet Properties of which Turner is part owner, was sold for $950 million to Ohio’s Health Care REIT. The Ohio company also agreed to buy 45 nursing home projects from Turner’s family company for $1.4 billion when they are completed.
While not voting on the bill, Turner lobbied privately against a proposal that would have banned new nursing home construction. The efforts rightfully brought Turner under fire, and the House Ethics Committee said he didn’t violate any rules, but added that Turner’s actions merited a review of those rules. No meetings on the topic have been scheduled yet.
At the time of the ruling, Bosma said Turner would not be punished. But on Friday he said Turner’s efforts to kill the legislation were concerning.
“Any involvement in the decision-making process, whether in public debate or through private discussions with fellow elected officials, presented an irreconcilable conflict,” Bosma said in a statement. “Turner should have recused himself entirely from influencing the matter in any way given the personal financial stake involved.”
While Turner has publicly denied the accuracy of the figure, the AP reported Turner stood to lose $4 million if the ban had been passed.
In June, we criticized Bosma for failing to take action, even verbally, against Turner. We said at the time that Bosma’s message was that it’s business as usual for the Republicans in power. While more than two months late, stripping Turner of his leadership role is the first step toward correcting the ethics issues plaguing politicians in Indiana. Though, the cynical view is Bosma waited to see if the heat around Turner would die down over time and took action only when it was clear it would not.
Turner isn’t the only one in state government who has drawn criticism for conflicts. Troy Woodruff oversaw the Indiana Department of Transportation at a time when it bought land in Indiana near him and his family. The move led investigators to spend years looking into whether he violated laws or ethics rules, but in the end he was cleared.
Yes, legislators work part time, and conflicts are inherent when you have teachers and real estate agents in a Statehouse that deals with education and housing laws. But it is clear Indiana’s conflict of interest rules are laughable, and the sooner General Assembly leaders get working on real reforms, the better.