Legislative Ethics: Improper Influence by a Lawmaker on an Administrative Agency

Moral and ethical dilemmas are inherent in the legislative process. Representative democracy raises a fundamental ethical conflict for lawmakers: choosing between representing constituent views or following personal convictions. Recent moral crises of elected officials have demonstrated the complex, diverse, and problematic nature of political ethics, yet the belief that these guardians of the public trust must successfully distinguish among the subtle distinctions of political ethics remains an integral tenet of American political thought. One of the most perplexing moral dilemmas a legislator faces is deciding what degree of influence can be exerted on an administrative agency to obtain a result beneficial to the lawmaker's constituency without violating ethical principles. There is little doubt that the American political system requires and accepts a legislator's influencing agency actions as part of the legislator's democratic function, but whenever a lawmaker exerts such influence, not for personal gain but on behalf of a member of the general public, the lines distinguishing ethical from unethical behavior inevitably become blurred. The issue of improper influence on an agency by a legislator is further complicated by the unique constitutional structure of American government and conflicting beliefs in American political thought. Few societies share the strong belief in individuality, the desire for government to solve problems, and the healthy distrust of bureaucracy that are found in American culture. This Comment explores the ethical questions raised when legislators use their knowledge and influence on behalf of their constituencies to affect the behavior of administrative agencies. Current methods of resolving ethical problems in legislative service that could be used to address questions of improper influence raise constitutional, political, and legal issues. Any resolution to the question of improper influence must first recognize the legitimacy and democratic function of lawmaker influence on administrative agency actions. The complex, diverse, and contextual nature of such ethical questions makes the creation of effective general ethical principles impractical. Legislatures and individual legislators must become sensitive to the types of situations that may raise ethical questions and address them on a case by case basis.