[1] The organization was founded in 1993 by Bruce R. Lang and others through the union of three Rhode Island good government groups (Operation Clean Sweep, Rhode Island Taxpayers Association (RITA), and UsPAC) that had formed in response to the credit union crisis in 1991 (45 banks and credit unions in the state closed due to the collapse of the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation (RISDIC), a state level deposit scheme that was privately owned by state chartered).
[4] Operation Clean Government focuses on several issues, including: OCG also weighs in on economic and judicial topics.
Notable graduates include Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri and former Cranston mayor Steve Laffey.
[8] Another OCG complaint (filed in 2004) against Senate President William Irons was in the probable cause stage at the Rhode Island Ethics Commission sanctions when Mr.
OCG is pushing for a ballot question in 2010 to amend the Constitution to re-empower the Ethics Commission to pursue these kinds of conflicts.
[8] OCG uses a team of volunteer lobbyists to persuade Rhode Island legislators to support good government ideas such as Voter Initiative; greater transparency (the publishing of committee votes, for example); creation of an Inspector General's office to root out waste and fraud; elimination of straight ticket voting; and legislation for public financing of elections.