It's Ethics Day Wednesday

That's according to the Senate Republican Office, which put out information on a hearing Wednesday morning on two ethics related bills.

The measures, which are before the Senate Rules Committee at 8 a.m., are:

SB 141 ENHANCE FELONY SENTENCES FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS (PAYNE)
SB 261 RETIREMENT BENEFIT FORFEITURE FOR SOME CRIMES (WILSON BEFFORT)

Payne in a statement said his bill would ramp up penalties for public officials convicted of crimes.

"Because they were receiving a salary from taxpayers when they were acting illegally, they should have to pay some of that salary back to the public and they should not receive their fringe benefits like pensions if they are convicted of a felony," he said.

Apparently this is the first time Payne's bill has actually gotten a hearing, despite its being introduced repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Friday looks like it could really be Ethics Day. Check out all the bills on the Senate Rules Committee agenda, set for 8 a.m. Friday morning. (Now that would be a good day to crank up the webcasting from Senate committees, hint hint.)

SB 94 PROHIBIT FORMER LEGISLATORS AS LOBBYISTS (BOITANO)
SB 116 LIMIT CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES & PACS (FELDMAN)
SB 128 REQUIRE BIANNUAL CAMPAIGN REPORTS (WIRTH)
SB 141 ENHANCE FELONY SENTENCES FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS (PAYNE)
SB 163 PROHIBIT FORMER LEGISLATORS AS LOBBYISTS (GRIEGO E.)
SB 258 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STATE CONTRACTORS (KELLER)
SB 262 POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES (BEFFORT)
SB 263 CONTRACTOR DISCLOSURE OF CONTRIBUTIONS (BEFFORT)
SB 296 STATE CONTRACTOR CONTRIBUTION DISCLOSURE (FELDMAN)
SB 346 POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES (SANCHEZ B.)