Alexandria attorney Robert Calhoun doesn’t just lobby Richmond legislators; he also investigates them when they’re accused of ethical violations.

The former state senator says he never saw lobbying while serving on the Senate Ethics Advisory Panel as a problem, but he’s willing to step down if new ethics reforms become law.

“I think it’s probably a good thing for the legislature to tighten up the standards,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun’s potential conflict of interest prompted Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, to write a bill prohibiting lobbyists from also serving the unpaid role of jury for senators and delegates. Passed by the Senate, Northam’s bill would also make investigations of legislators public and allow the probes to continue even after a legislator resigns.

After delegates passed a similar bill sponsored by Democrat Ward Armstrong of Collinsville, delegates are working with senators to reconcile both bills. Armstrong could not be reached for comment.

Calhoun, who is one of five members of the ethics panel, was paid nearly $50,000 last year to lobby for the Metro Washington Airports Authority and is also registered as a lobbyist for the Apartment and Office Building Association. He was appointed to serve on the ethics panel in 2001, two years before he registered as a lobbyist, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

If the reforms pass, Calhoun will be required to resign from the ethics panel—a change that Northam says is very important for the integrity of Virginia government.

“We serve the public and they expect a lot of us,” Northam said. “There were a couple of things I thought important to change about the existing code.”

Northam said his reforms were also prompted by the investigation and subsequent resignation of former Sen. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News. Hamilton was accused last year of negotiating for himself a $40,000 salary from an Old Dominion University teaching institute for which he had state money approved.

By law, the proceedings were kept from the public. And it ended when Hamilton resigned in November, since state statute terminates investigations if the lawmaker no longer holds office.

In the proposals sponsored by Northam and Armstrong, the public could have observed Hamilton’s investigation. Residents would have placed more trust in the process, said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.

“I live on the peninsula, and so I saw through letters to the editor and talking to people at the grocery store that there was a lot of interest in what was happening with Del. Hamilton,” said Rhyne, who has spoken in favor of the reforms. “Even people who were supporters of him still had a lot of problems with how the ethics committee conducted it. People were really feeling like something was being hidden.”

Originally, the Senate bill combined the two separate House and Senate ethics panels into just one panel. But that change has been rejected because House and Senate members couldn’t agree on who would get to appoint the fifth panel member, said E.M. Miller, director of the division of legislative services.

Currently, the panels for each body include five citizens elected for four-year terms. Three members on the Senate panel must be former senators, while two former delegates must be included on the House panel. Each chamber votes in members for their respective panels, nominated by the rules committee in the Senate and the speaker in the House.

Other reforms included in Northam’s bill include requiring the panels to meet at least once a year; right now, they only meet when an investigation was in order. In addition, it would be assumed that legislators are aware of what constitutes an ethical breach. Currently, it must be proven that legislators are aware of their violations.

The reforms are an “incredible advancement,” said Miller, who is the initial screener of all complaints filed against a senator or delegate. Miller is required by law to keep all complaints confidential—which would not change under the reforms.

And while the reforms would make investigations public, the initial inquiry would still take place behind closed doors. Subjecting legislators to public investigations of frivolous complaints was a concern cited by opponents of the House bill, which received eight “no” votes from Republicans and two from Democrats. The Senate bill passed unanimously.

After legislators iron out some small differences between the bills, Miller says he believes the reforms will become law.

“This bill will not fail,” Miller said. “There’s too much energy behind it.”