Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick said one of the state’s highest priorities should be ensuring Hoosiers trust their government.

And McCormick is proposing a series of ethics reforms to accomplish that.

McCormick’s plan includes a ban on lobbyists giving gifts of any value to lawmakers or state officials.

“They’re there to advocate. It shouldn’t be an entertainment system,” McCormick said. “And I’ve watched, too often, where people get real comfortable in taking some big gifts.”

McCormick also wants state officials to have to wait at least three years after leaving government before they can lobby the state — the current waiting period is one year.

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And she proposes creating a sexual harassment reporting system at the Indiana inspector general’s office. There, she wants people to be able to report harassment by any government official or lawmaker, state or local.

“There’s got to be a mechanism in which someone feels safe to even report,” McCormick said. “So, reporting it to the inspector general would be step one, to that reporting mechanism.”

McCormick said investigations themselves would be treated separately — in part because the inspector general’s office has no authority over local governments.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.