The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission is outlining the changes to the state’s legislative ethics statutes set to take effect in July.
The new laws adopted during the 2014 General Assembly will update the statutes for the first time since 1993. They include the “No Cup of Coffee” rule, which will bar lobbyists from buying food or beverages for a legislator or candidate and another prohibiting lobbyists from paying for out-of-state transportation or lodging for lawmakers
John Schaaf with the Legislative Ethics Commission says the new rules are unusual in at least one respect.
"Typically in most states you don't get this kind of good law unless you've had a big scandal. And that's how we originally got the 1993 law because it was adopted in the aftermath of the BOPTROT scandal," he says.
The federal BOPTROT investigation exposed 15 lawmakers who sold their votes.
The newly updated ethics changes will go into effect July 15.
