Democracy Awards Dinner draws praise, donations in Georgia - On April 17th, Common Cause Georgia held its 4th Democracy Awards dinner and drew a crowd of nearly 200 to celebrate the fight for good government. Former Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox delivered the keynote address, and the event honored four federal and state prosecutors in Georgia--US Attorney David Nahmias, Assistant US Attorneys Sally Yates and Richard Goolsby, and former prosecutor with the State Attorney General's office Harrison Kohler--who had recently won convictions in high-profile public corruption trials. Several attendees made a point to comment on how well the theme--honoring those who effectively enforce ethics laws--showcased Common Cause and its work on behalf of Georgia citizens.

Louisiana groups launch ethics reform project - On April 24, three dozen groups, including Common Cause, launched an ambitious project: to make Louisiana a model state for ethics laws and enforcement. So far, the group has worked with legislative supporters to file bills that would:
- Mandate that legislators and legislative candidates disclose their finances
- Improve access to public records,
- Make governmental ethics training mandatory
- Establish an independent full-time ethics administrator,
- Improve citizen access to ethics reports and filings
- Make other technical improvements to state ethics laws

These measures have overwhelming support in Louisiana: a recent poll showed 87 percent of respondents answered "very important" when asked about the importance of improving LA's governmental ethics laws.

Former NM director named to ethics and campaign finance commission - Last Saturday, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico named 23 people to a revived commission to recommend new ethics and campaign finance legislation, including former CC-NM director Matt Brix. On the heels of a big victory to pass judicial public financing, the committee will review the outcome of this year's legislative session and make recommendations as Richardson seeks a special session to deal with ethics reform.

House passes DC Voting Rights; focus turns to Senate - On April 19, the House voted 241-177 to pass a measure to give Washington, D.C. a vote in the House of Representatives; the bill also grants Utah an extra seat in Congress. This marks "the biggest victory in nearly three decades in the city's quest for voting rights." Now the bill moves to the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to survive a filibuster. This week marked a huge turning point, as Republican Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch joined on to sponsor the bill, also supported by Sen. Bill Bennett (R-UT). A fight remains, as opponents such as President Bush worry that the Supreme Court would find this move unconstitutional. More nefariously, we've heard the less-publicized worry that giving D.C. a representative would lead to calls to give D.C. two Senators.

You can see how your representative voted here... provided, of course, that you don't live in Washington D.C.

What did we miss? Leave a comment with news from your state.