Legislators’ Charity Connections Raise Ethics Questions

State governments’ increasing reliance on nonprofit groups to provide social services also creates fertile ground for corruption as taxpayer dollars flow with little oversight to charities that are closely linked with legislators, the Center for Public Integrity says.

Several New York State lawmakers have been accused or convicted of steering state funds into their own pockets or those of relatives and friends via grants to charities they founded or controlled. In several other states, legislators have drawn scrutiny for directing grants to affiliated nonprofit groups.

Most states consider such earmarking legal unless the official derives a direct financial benefit. Many states do not require legislators to disclose if they, relatives, or staff members hold board seats with nonprofits in their communities, and in some states ethics bodies have ruled that lawmakers can contribute to groups with which they are associated.