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Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in an Indiana case that some fear legalizes the bribery of local public officials under certain circumstances.
State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, is rightfully trying to close that loophole.
“It appeared to me the Supreme Court made it clear that it would be OK for a public official to accept a gratuity, as long as it was after the fact,” Slager said. “It just creates an incentive for impropriety.”
Slager’s legislation, House Bill 1110, stems from a complicated ruling in a federal public corruption case involving former Portage Mayor James Snyder.
The key question in the case was whether a gratuity given to a city official by a vendor after landing a city contract should be considered a crime if the gratuity wasn’t agreed to in advance.
In Snyder’s case, the U.S. Supreme Court said no.
As Indiana Lawyer’s Daniel Carson reported in June, the high court voted 6-3 to overturn the bribery conviction of the former Republican mayor for accepting a $13,000 gratuity from a trucking company after prosecutors said he steered about $1 million worth of city contracts the company’s way.
According to the Associated Press, Snyder’s attorneys argued before the high court that prosecutors hadn’t proved there was a “quid pro quo” exchange agreement before the contracts were awarded and that prosecuting officials for gratuities given after the fact unfairly criminalizes normal gift giving.
The court bought that argument. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the conservative majority, said, “The government’s interpretation of the statute would create traps for unwary state and local officials.”
Slager, the state legislator, said he doesn’t want to get involved in that federal legal dispute. But he does want Indiana to make it clear that, in most cases, gratuities offered to public officials are unacceptable.
Slager’s bill would make it a crime for a person to offer a gratuity to a public servant as a reward for an official act or for a public servant to solicit or accept a payment as a reward for an official act.
A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor for gratuities worth $100 to $749 and punishable by a $5,000 fine and up to one year in jail.
Gratuities worth $750 or more would be a Level 6 felony, which carries a jail term of up to 30 months and a $10,000 fine. Gifts valued at under $100 would be exempt, as would commemorative plaques and trophies and campaign contributions.
The bill deserves to become law to erase any doubt about where Indiana stands on such activities. However, the measure has yet to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee.
Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, the committee chair, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her plans for the bill.
The practice of all public officials should be to avoid any action that even has the appearance of impropriety.
Accepting gratuities from a vendor more than crosses that line and should be punished by law. Lawmakers can show they support ethical principles in government by passing Slager’s proposal. Failure to embrace the measure should bring public scorn.
As for former mayor Snyder, scrutiny of his actions also continues. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has ruled that he can be retried on a charge of pure bribery because the jury in his earlier trial wasn’t asked to distinguish between a bribe and a gratuity.
I see little difference.•
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Greg Weaver is the editor of Indiana Lawyer. Reach him at gweaver@ibj.com.
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