OLYMPIA—The public trust deficit is as bad as the budget deficit in Washington state, according to state Rep. Mark Miloscia.
The Federal Way lawmaker introduced government reforms today that aim to restore public trust by promoting accountability, transparency and integrity in every state agency.
“Everyone talks about tax reform, budget reform and economic reform, but none of them will be achieved to the extent we need unless we reform how government itself works,” said Miloscia, a Democrat known for his work on government efficiency and accountability.
One reform proposed by Miloscia today would enable the public to see at a glance whether state agencies are making the grade on key performance measures. House Bill 1764 would direct the State Auditor to give simple letter grades to agencies for productivity, fiscal efficiency, customer satisfaction and other measures.
“When Governing Magazine or the Pew Center on the States assess government performance, they use grades like A-plus or B-minus that are clear to everyone who’s ever read a report card,” said Miloscia. “The public shouldn’t have to be experts in complicated government metrics in order to hold state agencies accountable for meeting high standards.”
To improve the perception and reality of government ethics and integrity, Miloscia is calling for reforms of the ethics boards that oversee the Legislature and state agencies.
House Bill 1763 would require the Legislative Ethics Board to strengthen oversight of all legislators and staff. The board would have to seek independent ethics evaluations and advice from the Public Disclosure Commission and other outside experts, and would publish an annual report on the “ethical culture” of the House and Senate.
Miloscia’s bill also calls for changes in the Executive Ethics Board and state agencies. Every agency would be required to develop annual ethics and integrity plans, and every employee would have to attend annual ethics and integrity trainings or else forfeit “all compensation” relating to their state employment.
In addition, Miloscia is calling for the creation of a new awards program to recognize outstanding effort to improve ethics and integrity in local governments, businesses and non-profit organizations in Washington.
The Executive Ethics Board was slated for extinction in some budget-cutting proposals last year, but Miloscia led passage of a budget amendment that saved the board and mandated new performance measures of ethics and integrity in government.
“Anyone who thinks we cannot afford the costs of improving ethics and integrity has it backward,” Miloscia said. “The truth is that we cannot afford to fail in our efforts to improve government ethics and performance.
“The only way to restore trust is to earn it, Miloscia said.