In the 1985 science fiction film Back to the Future, actor Michael J. Fox traveled back in time 30 years to revisit past events that had an impact on the present. In the wake of the most recent series of scandals plaguing state government, lawmakers returned to the past and responded with a turn back the clock moment of their own, as they unveiled a statutory overhaul to the government ethics and lobbying regulatory scheme. The changes in many ways represent a return to past practices once championed as “sweeping ethics reform.”

Change of Regulatory Guard

On April 9, 2022, the Legislature and the governor enacted the Ethics Commission Reform Act of 2022 (L 2022, Chapter 56, §1, part QQ (effective July 8, 2022)). In an expected, but nonetheless high-profile change, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) was unceremoniously terminated after seemingly non-stop criticism from the media, politicians, and the public.