Q&A #1: State Ethics Rules

Let's start Ask Me Anything Day off with "Elias Nugator," who asks:

The State House GOP caucus has proposed some splashy new ethics rules. Realistically, do these proposals have any change of being debated let alone becoming the rules of said chamber?

It sure doesn't seem like it, but we'll see. Clearly, Speaker Bob DeLeo wants to be seen as a serious reformer, as shown in the aggressive patronage-ethics bill the house passed earlier this year (which the senate has shown no appetite for). But therein lies the rub -- the house has already moved on ethics this session, so they don't really see the need to move again.

Certainly nothing serious is going to happen this year, with the end of formal session fast approaching. And by January, will regional newspaper editorial writers, and columnist like Scot Lehigh, still be interested?

One other note: it is widely believed that Republican representative Dan Winslow, who is leading the charge on this, will be a statewide candidate in 2014. That may make Democratic leaders less likely to want to hand him a victory -- although, it may be worse to hand him an issue where he's the white knight against the reluctant Beacon Hill Dems. I don't know how that will impact this, but it's worth bearing in mind.