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Prince George's County Del. Justin Ross has proposed closing a loophole that allows county leaders to receive donations from developers through shared accounts — a tactic used to circumvent a law preventing them from accepting direct contributions from builders with projects under consideration.

The 1993 state law was designed to prevent the county executive and council from voting on any project if they received contributions from any lawyer, engineer or company associated with the pending development.

However, many county leaders have instead received developer donations through slate accounts shared with General Assembly candidates, allowing them to vote on the builders' projects while raising money for campaigns.

"The County Council [and executive] should not be able to receive contributions while projects are in front of them," said Ross (D-Dist. 22) of Hyattsville. "It's a reasonable bill that will give Prince Georgians more faith in their government."

Although Ross began drafting the bill more than two months ago, it is attracting new attention since the Nov. 12 arrest of County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and his wife, Councilwoman-elect Leslie E. Johnson (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville, for allegedly destroying a $100,000 check from a developer linked to an FBI investigation into bribery.

"There's a great reason for it, when you look at what has happened here," Ross said, referring to his bill. "My hope is that Prince George's County will lead the way on a number of fronts, including ethics reform."

Under Ross' proposal, developers would need to provide a detailed list of their contributions to slates and individual campaigns when they request a land-use decision from the council. If council members have any affiliation with a slate that took developer money, they would be required to recuse themselves.

Closing the loophole was a campaign promise of County Executive-elect Rushern L. Baker III (D), who pledged in the spring to reform county ethics practices.

Wayne K. Curry, chairman of Baker's transition team and a former county executive, declined to comment on Ross' bill.

Members of the Prince George's County House Delegation are scheduled to have a public hearing on the bill Dec. 9 at Prince George's County Community College in Largo.

The uncertainty of whether developers are gaining favors through slate donations makes residents distrust politicians, said Kamita Gray of Brandywine.

"The issue becomes that if you give to a candidate, you expect things," she said.

State Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Dist. 24) of Capitol Heights attempted to rescind the law banning direct contributions to council members last year, saying it discriminated against lawmakers because Prince George's is the only county in the state with the restriction. Exum's measure attracted no support, but garnered criticism from state watchdog groups and state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach, who sponsored the original ban.

Miller and Exum did not return calls for comment.

dvalentine@gazette.net