Indiana Inspector General says state should tighten conflict of interest laws

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's outgoing Inspector General wants lawmakers to make several key changes to the state ethics code - including adding transparency to the use of post-employment waivers and strengthening conflict of interest laws.

"The body of advisory opinions established over the last ten years by the (state ethics commission) and (office of inspector general) has revealed areas of the code where the rules could be amended to provide further clarity and promote efficiency," said Inspector General David Thomas in a report released Wednesday.

"This report is intended to highlight the areas where the public integrity laws governing the executive branch of state government could be enhanced."

The most significant proposal involves the use of post-employment waivers, in which employees get permission from their agency head boss to take a position after leaving state government that would otherwise require a one-year wait.

Waivers have been given 106 times in the last 10 years. Twenty were granted in 2013 and at least eight so far this year.

Thomas said they can be a good tool "to help strike a more harmonious balance between the interests of the public and the interests of an individual state worker."