Ever wonder why legislators can get away with voting on bills that pad their own pockets?

Got a note from a reader this week, wondering how a state legislator who recently scored $13.9 million from his charter school operation could vote on a bill dealing with regulation of charter school operations.

“Wow, Laurie. Look at what my public education tax money can get – not for my local school district or my grandchildren, but for (Sen. Eddie) Farnsworth: $13.9 million on the sale of his charter school,” wrote Sharon Lee Astle, of Sun City West.

“Did (Eddie) really say he’s ‘just smart’? When an AZ state Representative now Senator votes on charter school legislation while an owner, while sale profits are fresh in his pocket, and while still on a payroll from one, I don’t call it ‘just smart.’ I call it ‘conflict of interest.’

“Why aren’t we AZ curmudgeons raising hell about this?  Where is the Senate Ethics Committee on this?  How about the AZ Attorney General on this?”

There are 2 sets of rules in Arizona

To answer your question, Sharon, nobody’s raising hell because it is well established in this state that there are two sets of rules:

One for mere mortals (you and me) and one for Arizona’s legislators.

In the mortal world, it would be a conflict for a guy who made millions by selling off schools built and operated with public money – to a non-profit he set up that then hired him as a consultant – to vote on bills affecting charter schools.

In the rarified world of the Arizona Legislature, there’s no conflict for voting on bills that would allow you to make a bundle. In fact, Farnsworth’s been voting on charter school bills for years, often arguing against further regulation of charter schools.

Is it any wonder that Arizona laws governing charter schools contain gaping loopholes that allow charter school operators to become charter school millionaires?

Farnsworth says he’s done nothing illegal or unethical, that he has earned every penny.

"I make no apologies for being successful," he told his fellow senators last week, while voting on a joke of a bill our leaders are touting as major charter school reform.

Farnsworth isn't the only one with 'no conflict'

Neither, by the way, did then-Senate President Steve Yarbrough make any apologies when he made out … well, like a legislator … on Arizona’s tuition tax-credit program.

Yarbrough was the guy behind many of the bills to expand tax credits for private-school tuition. He's also was at the time the executive director of one of the state's largest- school-tuition organizations – non-profits that collect tax-credit donations then dole them out as scholarships. Besides pulling down a six-figure salary for running the STO, Yarbrough also owned a for-profit company hired to process the STO’s applications and the STO paid him to rent space in a building he owns.

I don’t imagine that Rep. Kevin Payne makes any apologies either. He’s a food truck owner who is currently pushing a bill that would expand the places where food trucks can operate. Last year, he successfully pushed through a new law to cut government regulation of food trucks.

Farnsworth, Yarbrough and Payne – and others – can get away with this blatant conflict of interest because the people who police these things have determined there is no conflict of interest. 

They wrote the law saying it's OK

State law – which our leaders write – says public officials have no real conflict of interest if a bill they are voting on would affect at least 10 other people. 

Put another way, as long as at least 10 other people can benefit, it's A-OK for legislators to vote on bills that will allow them to pad their pockets, often with public cash. 

So, because there are at least 500 charter schools, it doesn’t matter if Farnsworth makes millions as a result of legislation he pushed and voted for (or pushed against and helped defeat). 

Doesn’t matter if Yarbrough makes a killing by expanding tuition tax credit programs that divert tax money from the state treasury.

Doesn’t matter if Payne pushes legislation that benefits his own food truck business.

In the mortal world, using a position of public trust to enrich yourself would be a blatant outrage and maybe even a crime.

At the Arizona Legislature, it’s … expected.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com.