Pawlenty to reinstate ethics code for executive branch

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty will reinstate an ethics code for top state appointees that's similar to the one Gov. Jesse Ventura let lapse, a Pawlenty spokesman said.

"The policy has not been drafted yet, but it will be meaningful," said Tim Morin, a spokesman for Pawlenty's transition team.

In January 1991, former Gov. Arne Carlson issued an executive order establishing an ethics code for gubernatorial appointees and employees of the agencies that report to the governor.

The code, which in many cases paralleled ethics rules written into state law, barred appointees and employees from using state time or equipment for personal benefit. It also barred them from using their positions to obtain any privileges not available to the general public.

Executive orders, such as Carlson's ethics code, expire 90 days after the governor who issues them leaves office. In April 1999, Ventura reissued 14 of Carlson's executive orders, but the ethics code was not among them.

On Wednesday, Ventura spokesman John Wodele had this to say about Pawlenty's decision to impose the ethics code by executive order:

"We have all the respect in the world for Gov.-elect Pawlenty, and that's his prerogative. Different administrations will have different rules and regulations."

It was never determined whether the gubernatorial ethics code would have barred any of the side jobs that Ventura pursued during his governorship.

A Ventura appointee, former Employee Relations Commissioner Julien Carter, ruled that Ventura was not a state employee and not covered by the ethics provisions in law.