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In view of disclosures regarding some public officials' abuse of office, it seems that some of our elected and appointed officials are suffering from what I call "public official sclerosis." This is a disease characterized by a hardening frame of mind resulting in an attitude of entitlement and a belief that one is exempt from the rules and obligations of life that other citizens face. It is particularly evident among politicians and officials who have been in office for many years although it can affect all officials regardless of tenure. The best cure for this disease is transparent and open government, however, the cure may be worse than the disease for some of these officials so it can be expected they will resist any attempt to bring about reforms suggested below.

The General Assembly should consider the following reforms during its upcoming session:

- All official expense accounts of all elected and appointed government officials should be subject to publicly available audits and/or be regularly published online. The General Assembly should consider legislation on this matter that has the same scope and effect as the current Open Meetings Act so that all Maryland government bodies and their elected and/or politically appointed officials are affected by its provisions.

- Financial disclosure reports of all officials currently required to file one should be publicly available without restriction and preferably published online. Maryland officials should follow the U.S. House of Representatives rules: "Section 304 of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires the Office of the Clerk to make Member, Delegate, and residential commissioner financial disclosure reports received on or after January 1, 2008 available to the public on the internet" (see www.clerk.house

.gov/public_disc/financial.html).

The best antidote to public official sclerosis infection is full public disclosure of both an official's official personal expense account and financial disclosure report. Furthermore, an official personal expense account (distinguished from an office account) needs to be capped, subject to annual use-it-or-lose-it rules, and its uses must be clearly defined and enumerated. The current Prince George's County Board of Education Bylaw 9354 is a worthy example to consider.

One nationally prominent official with a particularly virulent case of the disease has suffered severe withdrawal symptoms and may be on life support since Congress passed its law on the matter. New York Rep. Charlie Rangel has gone from a national icon in the Democratic Party to a toxic asset since his financial disclosure filings have gone public on the Web. One is left to wonder how many more Charlie Rangels are out there including in our own state of Maryland. We need to pass the reforms suggested here to find out.

Lee Tuveson, Bowie