Planning Commissioners must disclose

Today the Tennessee House of Representatives gave final approval to a bill by Republican Rep. Jim Gotto requiring local and regional planning commissioners to file interest disclosures with the Tennessee Ethics Commission. The House vote was 88-2. This bill would require the estimated  3,000 planning commissioners in the state to submit the same disclosure requirements as most other state and local  public officials.

This is a good bill that deserved to pass. Thanks to Representative Gotto for bringing about more open and transparent government. We need to know how the planning commissioners earn their living and who is wining and dining them. They are often the most powerful people in local government. Their approval or disapproval of a zoning proposal can make someone rich or not. If someone is sending members of the planning commission to a conference or junket or buying them lavish meals, we need to know. Their life and their financial dealings and financial interest should be an open book. Their ethics should be above reproach. 

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