A bill, link, has been written by members of an Interim committee on Courts, Corrections and Justice.
AN ACT
RELATING TO ETHICS;- ENACTING THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION ACT;
- CREATING THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION;
- PROVIDING FOR AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR;
- PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL ETHICS TRAINING AND THE PUBLICATION OF ETHICS GUIDES;
- REQUIRING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROPOSED ETHICS CODE;
- PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF ADVISORY OPINIONS;
- PROVIDING FOR THE FILING OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST STATE OFFICIALS, STATE EMPLOYEES, GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS AND LOBBYISTS FOR ETHICS VIOLATIONS;
- PROVIDING FOR INVESTIGATIONS AND HEARINGS;
- GRANTING SUBPOENA POWERS;
- REQUIRING CONFIDENTIALITY;
- PROHIBITING RETALIATION;
- PROVIDING PENALTIES.
Interesting tidbits; (found within the Act)
9.G. A state official or state employee who is a respondent
shall be entitled to representation by the risk
management division of the general services department;
provided, however, that if the respondent is found to
have committed an ethics violation, the respondent shall
reimburse the division for the respondent's equitable
share of reasonable attorney fees and costs.
11. C. After hearing and consideration of all the
evidence, if the commission finds by clear and convincing
evidence that the respondent's conduct constituted an
ethics violation, the commission shall issue a written
report that shall include findings of fact and conclusions
of law. The commission shall publicly disclose the written
report and provide it, along with all evidence collected
during its investigation, ...
11. D. If, after consideration of all the evidence, the
commission does not find by clear and convincing evidence
that the respondent's conduct constituted an ethics
violation, the commission shall dismiss the complaint and
provide notice of the dismissal to the respondent and
complainant no later than five days after the finding is made.
A notice issued pursuant to this subsection shall not be
public except upon the request of the respondent.
11. E. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Open
Meetings Act, commission hearings held pursuant to this
section are closed to the public. The commission shall
promulgate rules establishing procedures for hearings.
12. All complaints, reports, files, records and
communications collected or generated by the commission
or its director that pertain to alleged ethics violations are
confidential and not subject to the provisions of the
Inspection of Public Records Act.
14. A. The commission shall not accept or review
complaints concerning conduct that occurred more than
three years prior to the day the complaint is received by
the commission.
14. B. The commission shall not take action on a
complaint filed or initiated against a candidate for a public
office covered by the State Ethics Commission Act on or
after the filing date for a primary election through
election day of the general election, ...
14. C. The commission shall not investigate allegations
of misconduct involving campaign advertisements.
16. A. A person who discloses any confidential
complaint, report, file, record or communication in violation
of the State Ethics Commission Act is guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by
imprisonment for not more than one year or both.
16. B. In addition to a penalty imposed pursuant to
Subsection A of this section, a court may impose a civil
penalty not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) for each violation of Section 12 of the State
Ethics Commission Act. (confidentiality section)
18. TEMPORARY PROVISION--REPORT ON EXTENSION OF
STATE ETHICS COMMISSION JURISDICTION TO LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS.--By January 1, 2013, the state ethics
commission shall submit a report to the legislature and
the governor regarding the extension of commission
jurisdiction to elected and appointed officials and
employees of political subdivisions of the state. ...
No comments:
Post a Comment