For Immediate Release April 5, 2012 Morrisey Releases Proposals to Improve Ethics in State Government and Reduce Voter

Fraud 11 Point Plan a Key Part of Morriseys Campaign Harpers Ferry, WV Patrick Morrisey, Republican candidate for Attorney General, today released a comprehensive plan to advance ethics reform and prevent election fraud in West Virginia. Morriseys plan includes several initiatives, many of which the Attorney General can implement administratively and others which will require changes in state law. The chief law enforcement officer of West Virginia must be a leader in efforts to enhance ethical practices in state government, Morrisey said. As Attorney General, I will fight for common-sense proposals that restore citizens trust in our government. Morriseys ethics package includes ending the Attorney Generals wasteful and corrupt expenditure of taxpayer dollars to engage in political campaigning and self-promotion. Under Morriseys plan and consistent with the State Constitution, settlement monies will be returned to the State Legislature and taxpayers, rather than being given to the Attorney Generals Office to decide how to spend. Under the United States and West Virginia Constitutions, only the legislative branch possesses the power of the purse to spend money. Its long past time that the West Virginia Attorney Generals office returns to this basic principle and relinquishes control of how monies are disbursed once a settlement is reached, Morrisey stated. These are taxpayer dollars and should no longer be used as a private piggy bank or free campaign account for elected politicians. Morriseys plan will also establish competitive bidding for the states use of private lawyers. In order to advance transparency and ensure that the taxpayers dont overpay for legal services, law firms hired by the state must be subject to competition, he said. The concept of competitive bidding has bipartisan support and should be implemented without delay.

Other parts of Morriseys plan include limiting the Attorney General to two full terms in office, and clarifying the law to ensure that the Attorney General is the principal enforcement officer for election laws in West Virginia. Morrisey, a resident of Harpers Ferry, pledges that improving ethical practices will be one of his top priorities as Attorney General and a major focus of his campaign. We must aggressively fight corruption in our state and ensure that taxpayer monies and the integrity of the ballot box are protected. I will not compromise on these fundamental points. ###

Patrick Morriseys Eleven Point Plan to Improve Ethics in State Government

1. Return settlement monies directly to the taxpayersthe State Legislature, not the Attorney General, must decide how precious taxpayer dollars are spent. (Administrative and Statutory Changes) 2. Eliminate misuse of taxpayer resources for political self-promotion: bar the Office of Attorney General, and other elected officials, from spending taxpayer money on commercials, mass mailings, and other self-promotional devices during an election year or at least within four months of an election. For example, the State Legislature should determine whether the $6 million dollars in educational assistance monies from the mortgage foreclosure settlement can be better spent on improving our states substance abuse problem or ensuring that our poorest citizens dont lose their Medicaid benefits. The State Legislature should act immediately to reclaim those resources and prevent their misuse. At a minimum, elected officials should not have the ability to use taxpayer funded commercials in the middle of an election. Recently, the AGs office coincidentally announced that it was establishing a new office in Berkeley County funded by the settlement. Shouldnt the State Legislature authorize these types of decisions? (Administrative and Statutory Changes) 3. Prohibit taxpayer-financed production and distribution of pens, magnets, and all other trinkets with the officeholders name. (Administrative and Statutory Changes) 4. Conduct a detailed audit of the AGs office and how taxpayers resources are spent during election years and non-election years. (Administrative and Statutory Change) 5. Limit the Attorney General to two consecutive terms in office, just like the Governor. (Statutory and Constitutional Change)

6. Institute competitive bidding for private legal services to ensure the state receives the benefit of competition, quality, and lower prices. (Administrative and Statutory Changes) 7. Expand citizens ability to file requests for legal opinions to gain greater clarity of the law. (Administrative and Statutory Changes) 8. Increase Transparency of Lawmakers Personal Assets and Income on Financial Disclosure Forms, so the public is better able to evaluate lawmakers financial dealings to ensure that conflicts of interest are eliminated. (Statutory Change) 9. Expand Authority of the Attorney General to Prosecute Election Law Fraudworking with the Secretary of States Office, we need to clarify that the Attorney General is the chief enforcement officer of the states election laws. During the Lincoln County fiasco, the Office of Attorney General was effectively absent from the investigation uncovering voter fraud. The State Legislature should provide the Office of the Attorney General with explicit authority to prosecute individuals who try to steal elections and undermine our states election laws. (Statutory Change) 10. Request that the U.S. Department of Justice oversee elections in Southern West Virginia to ensure that the theft of votes in Lincoln County does not occur AGAIN during the important 2012 elections. As evident from the Lincoln County cases, our Attorney General has been unwilling or unable to execute the most basic requirement of his job to protect the integrity of the ballot. Until West Virginia law is clarified, the Attorney Generals office should ensure that the Department of Justice is involved. (Administrative request) 11. Pass a tough voter identification law, drafted in a way that passes constitutional muster, to limit the potential for fraud at the ballot box. (Statutory change) Patrick Morrisey is an honest and highly experienced health care attorney from Harpers Ferry with over 20 years of senior level private sector, governmental, legal, and public policy experience. Morrisey pledges to establish an Office of Federalism and Freedom in the Attorney Generals Office to advocate for the State of West Virginia against the federal governments unconstitutional mandates and excessive regulations and believes that ethics reform is sorely needed to improve our states business climate.