|
|
September 20, 2007
This year the General Assembly pass strong ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance reforms that build on laws already recognized as among the most far-reaching in the nation. And, in the first two weeks of session, all 120 House members completed the required ethics training and disclosed relevant financial information.
Thank you for your allowing me to share this information with you and for all of your support. As always, feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance.
Pensions
This session the General Assembly passed a new law that requires public officials and state workers found guilty of felony misconduct to forfeit their pensions. The bill (S659) covers legislators, judges, state and local employees and teachers. The law is not retroactive and does not apply to officials already convicted of wrongdoing.
Ethics Act
We made more than 50 technical or clarifying changes we made this year to the ethics and lobbying reform bills we passed last year. One change requires legislative employees to attend refresher ethics education every two years. Another makes ethics committee and State Ethics Commission meetings open to the public except for those involving minors, personnel records or other clearly private matters.
Candidate Convictions
Under a new law, candidates who have been convicted of a felony are required to disclose that information when running for office. A person convicted of a felonly can run for public office once citizenship rights have been restored. Under the bill (S1218), candidates do not have to disclose a conviction if they were pardoned or if the conviction was dismissed on appeal or expunged from the candidate’s record.
Disbarred Judges and DAs
The governor now has immediate power to remove from office a disbarred judge or district attorney. The bill (S118) also allows for the suspension of the disbarred lawyer’s pay. The bill came after a district court judge lost his license but refused to leave his job, even though he was suspended from acting as a judge. Previously, state law required judges and DAs to be members of the bar in good standing, but did not provide for their removal.
Legal Defense Funds
This session we created a law to require legislators who establish legal defense funds to report donations to those accounts. Under the law created by House Bill 1737, legislators with these accounts now have to report donations and expenses each quarter. In addition, they also have to abide by restrictions similar to those for campaign accounts. Donations from labor unions, insurance companies, corporations, business entities, or professional associations cannot exceed $4,000 each year. Cash donations cannot be more than $50 and the report must include detailed information about contributors.
Notes
Members of the House repealed a law that allowed chiropractors to charge patients the same co-payments as doctors. North Carolina was the only state with such a law, and while many of my colleagues did not disagree with the policy, they felt obligated to repeal the law since former House Speaker Jim Black inserted it as a special provision to a budget corrections bill in 2005. Black later acknowledged he had accepted cash payments from chiropractors that he did not report.
Raleigh Report Archives:
August 2
September 13
TOP
|
| |
