Can We Have Real Time Political Accountability? YES! What EOPEB Can Do For American Politics!

Throughout the United States we are seeing an increase in elected officials becoming less accountable to their constituents while a growing number go so far as to use their offices as a means to line their own pockets.  When discovered, the process for removing these people from office has often been long and arduous.  The average person does not have the time, money or resources to take that challenge on.  What we’re proposing here is a solution to that.

We believe politicians should be treated like licensed contractors who we consider inviting into our homes or businesses to improve or repair our conditions.  We are hiring both politicians and contractors to perform a service for us and our families.  Should a contractor attempt to defraud us there are swift avenues of recourse that once applied, remove that contractor from their license so that they will no longer be a threat to others.  In most states, when you hire a contractor, that contractor must have a license bond that at a minimum. tells the customer the contractor is who they say they are and that they meet the minimum conditions to maintain that license.

On certain projects an additional Surety Bond is required that on top of their license bond is used as a Performance and Completion Bond.  This type of bond is guaranteeing the contractor will complete the job as specified, per the agreed upon price and in the agreed upon time.  If the contractor does as promised then the contractor is classified as a lower risk the next time they need this bond, his reputation is improved and more work will likely follow. This seems to work well and acts as a pretty good way to give both sides what they want while protecting their interests.

When we elect an official we’re relying on them to represent us and our best interests for the course of their term.  We also need relatively real time solutions to what we see being done by some of our politicians who have decided to enrich themselves while in office, with little regard to the consequences.  What we propose as a solution to address this would be that all elected officials, and this could include key appointed officials as well,  maintain a Surety Bond which combines financial performance guarantees with that of their ethical responsibilities while holding that office.   We refer to that bond with the people as a Elected Officials Performance and Ethics Bond (EOPEB) that guarantees they will fulfill their duties to their constituents without regard to their own, their families or their friends direct financial interests.  The politician will list that bond number on their website and if there are challenges to the bond by a constituent in their district the bonding company will look into the challenge and act in the following manner;

1)  The elected official (Insuree) will be given notice by the Insured that an Egregious Activities Complaint (EAC) has been filed in their office.  The complaint will be specific as to what the claimed breach was and whatever evidence that they have to support it will be included.  The Insured will be given 14 days to respond to the complaint at which time they will present any evidence they have that might refute the claim.

2)  If the evidence supports the Claimants arguments the Insured will give the Insuree 30 day Notice to Correct which means the Insuree has to remedy or retract the situation with no harm coming to them or their bond standing if they do so per the terms of the Notice to Correct.

3) If the Insuree wishes to contest the Insured’s ruling there will be an Appeals Process that allows a full vetting of the evidence from both sides.  If an Appeal is requested by the Insuree than the 30 day Notice to Correct is put on hold until the Appeal has been completed.  If the Appeal rules against the Insuree the Insuree has 30 days from the Appeal Ruling to take the corrective action.  Failure to do so will result in a Forfeiture of the EOPEB Certification.

4) If a Claimant wishes to contest the Insured Notice to Correct or Appeal ruling they may do so in court.  There are no claimant appeal processes available through these processes.

5) If a Claimant feels that the Insured is giving the Insuree favorable treatment then the Claimant me report the Insured to that states Board of Insurance.  If after an investigation by State Regulators it is determined that the Insured did not adequately perform their responsibilities under the terms of their license to issue these EOPEB certificates, that Insured may be fined, suspended or have their licence to write these bonds revoked depending upon the severity and number of complaints filed against that Insured.

6) If an Insuree is removed from their seat through a Revocation of Bond action that seat will be filled by the next qualified candidate in line to do so.  That replacement official will remain in office until the original insuree’s term would expire.  The replacement must also be able to secure and hold EOPEB certification during the course of their tenure.

7) If a Claimant is found to be filing numerous unsubstantiated, malicious reports of EOPEB violations that person can be held personally liable for the costs necessary to defend these charges.  If Insuree/Insured is found has evidence of unsubstantiated and repetitive charges against an EOPEB holder those charges and fee’s can be recoverable in a court of law.

8) The minimum recommended amount for an EOPEB would be $2.5M.  Some states may wish a higher amount but in no case do we feel it should be lower.  Should a Claimant prevail on their claim and prove damages that money would go to pay for Claimant expenses and damages to Claimant and any other parties that can prove to have been harmed by the Insuree through their actions.  Any monies paid out by the Insured would become a liability carried over to the Insuree until such time the Insured recovers their expenses or the monies are waived through bankruptcy proceedings.

9) A EOPEB certification is only meant to insure against financial crimes that can be proven benefit the Insuree.  It is not meant, nor can it be used to file claims against an Insuree for negotiating terms for their constituents where one side does not get what they want.  If the Claim is politically motivated it will be returned to the Claimant as Unprocessable.

Lastly we don’t need broad support our of DC for this plan to work.  Get your local government to agree to these EOPEB Bonds and before long the rest of America will wake up to it.  If you have comments or wish to ask questions about this plan please leave them here and/or join us on the Banned Members Facebook Group as we’d love to hear what you have to say.  Thank you!

 

[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form]