In yet another blow against ethics and good government, the House has unanimously approved a bill that would roll back a provision in last year’s ethics reform bill.

You heard right. Unanimously.

And the bill in question was H.1, meaning it was the first piece of legislation to be formally introduced in the House this year.

Priorities, you know.

Per VTDigger, last year’s bill would require the House and Senate’s own ethics panels — you know, the ones that operate as complete black boxes concealed from public view? — to consult with the state Ethics Commission under some circumstances.

The key word being “consult.” No decision-making power or authority would be conferred upon the Commission. But even requiring consultation was a bridge too far for The People’s Representatives. H.1 was drafted to “cure” the “problem” with last year’s legislation. And the House passed it without ever taking a roll call vote. Everybody wanted this thing, but nobody wanted to be on the record.

Their reasoning, or pretext or excuse if you prefer, is that the state constitution gives complete authority to the House and Senate over their respective members. This has been generously interpreted by the uninterested, dispassionate Legislature to mean there can be no independent check on its prerogatives. Not even a mere requirement to “consult.”

Hey, I’m no constitutional scholar. Maybe their interpretation is correct.

Doesn’t make it right, though.

Just ask the chair of the state Ethics Commission, Christina Sivret. She says H.1 amounts to a rollback of ethics reform and a step away from creating uniform standards across government.

“Just the fact that they’re being held to a different standard than everyone else, I mean, that’s a problem,” Sivret said Thursday afternoon. “Because the question is, why? Why would you need to do that unless you’re seeking to escape ethics accountability?”

Why indeed. This is the kind of thing that led the Center for Public Integrity to give Vermont a damning “D-” grade for our ethics regime.

It also makes me question the wisdom of our state’s founders. The constitution was written when leaders’ attitudes toward the electorate were downright patrician. If its language truly does bar any outside check, or even consultation, on the Legislature, then that’s kind of a problem. Might be a reason to amend the constitution.

OH WAIT, the only avenue for a constitutional amendment runs straight through the Legislature!

And if you think they’d be open to diluting their absolute independence, well, I point to the unanimous support for H.1. It would be a cold day in Hell, as they say.

Sivret hopes for a different outcome in the Senate. I wish I could agree, but I fully expect another quick, one-sided vote. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was again unanimous and roll call-free. I’ve been following legislative deliberations on ethics since they were dragged, kicking and screaming, into the issue because of the unignorable Norm McAllister scandal. They have always been slow to act, eager to dilute, and insistent on its own privilege. There has always been a tinge of superciliousness to the proceedings, as if our representatives and senators see themselves as a separate and better breed of human being.

And Vermont will continue to deserve its “D-” grade for ethics. Because there is seemingly no way out of this mess. Not as long as Gollum thirsts for the ring with all his being.