Hit crooked politicians where it hurts: in their pensions

Let’s hope the third time is the charm.

Twice before state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown has introduced legislation in the Ohio General Assembly that would put the pensions of crooked politicians at risk. And twice this legislation has died on the vine.

In 2001, Hagan, a Democratic senator in a Republican Senate, sponsored a bill to cut in half the retirement benefits of state employees and elected officials convicted of taking bribes in relation to their jobs. Hagan opted not to seek the removal of 100 percent of benefits for the sake of family members — in the spirit of federal tax law that offers some protection to an innocent spouse. That bill died in committee.

Six years later, Hagan was in the House of Representatives and decided to try again, with a tougher bill. That proposal would have stripped 100 percent of the taxpayers’ portion of pensions to any public employee or official in Ohio convicted of not only bribery, but any felony. The only part of a felon’s pension that he or she would have access to would be personal payments made toward retirement.

That bill got strong bipartisan support in the House, receiving only three nay votes. But, again, it died in the Senate. There was a similar bill introduced in the Senate by a Republican and had it been passed, the Senate and House bills could have gone to reconciliation.

What might have been

If only they had, perhaps a half dozen Mahoning County elected or appointed officials wouldn’t be facing criminal charges now. Perhaps that threat to their pensions would have provided a stoplight that was apparently missing.

If not, at least taxpayers would have the satisfaction of knowing that those officials who were found guilty wouldn’t have the cushion of a comfortable government pension.

Hagan’s bills made sense on almost every level. They had the potential to provide a strong disincentive for wrongdoing. If that failed, they provided a measure of appropriate punishment. And they sent a message that honest politicians were willing to punish their wayward brethren in the name of good government.

In a telephone interview Saturday, Hagan says he’s inclined to try again. And he believes there is an available Republican sponsor for similar legislation in the Senate.

It is too late for anything the General Assembly does to penalize those who have already been exposed. The Constitution doesn’t allow retroactive punishment.

But if lawmakers act now and if Gov. John Kasich goes on record with his full support, maybe there will be fewer next times