The House and Senate have arrived at a compromise version of the Ethics bill. It would require the disclosure of legislator income, but it really has little if any other virtue.

The is no independent review and enforcement mechanism, and so there is no reason to believe that the outcome of any future ethics charges against legislators will meet more scrutiny than they have in the past.

The compromise will be brought up when we return.

If it is truly called an income disclosure bill and increased Ethics enforcement then I plan to vote for it as I did the Senate version earlier this year.

If it is touted as the greatest Ethics reform ever, then I might have to vote against it because it contains no real “reform” at all.