1.   Federal ethics laws prohibit former members from returning to lobby their colleagues for a year.

2.   Although the ethics laws were on the books, the legislature made enforcement difficult by underfunding the Ethics Commission.

3.   Although no one is suggesting the Weld aides have violated state ethics laws, all enjoy a close relationship with Weld and other state officials.

4.   An Ethics Commission investigation into the matter, also released Friday, found that Keeley did not violate city ethics laws.

5.   And former top government officials, like executives with the well-known Carlyle Group, have done well after leaving government, though ethics laws restrict some of their activities.

6.   And it showed that when judges break ethics laws, they rarely face so much as a private reprimand.

7.   And while some advocacy groups call the lobbying law inadequate, they contend that the ethics law is even weaker.

8.   And under an agreement with the State Ethics Commission, Flaherty would concede that he violated state ethics law by taking vacations at homes owned by lobbyists.

9.   But ethics laws distinguish between earned income and unearned income such as rent, dividends, interest and capital gains.

10.   But Crist said ethics laws could still come into play.