Lawmaker admits new ethics bill would have saved Mike Hubbard from prosecution

In what may be one of the most brazen acts of upending state ethics laws, Republican Rep. Rich Wingo admitted on Tuesday that his legislation, HB387, is designed to save others from being prosecuted like former Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard.

Wingo, during a floor debate, unwittingly gave the real reasons behind HB387, which was passed in the House this week. “If we had had this bill four or five years ago maybe we could have been spared the embarrassment that this body experienced with the former Speaker,” Wingo said.

Here, Wingo is referring to the conviction of then-Republican Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, who was found guilty of using his office for personal gain by accepting contracts with entities that had business before the state.

As Wingo makes clear, if HB387 had been the law of the land when Hubbard was in office, a simple filing would have allowed him to use his office for personal gain without worry.

Read more: http://www.alreporter.com/2018/03/15/lawmaker-admits-new-ethics-bill-saved-mike-hubbard-prosecution/