Ethics bill shuts out public

Lawmakers worry about frivolous complaints against officials, but reformers cry foul

A new state ethics law would close off to the public any complaints filed about public officials -- and hearings that happen as a result of the complaints -- until action is taken, under the latest version of a reform bill now being debated.

Closing off complaints and hearings, as spelled out in the bill, is different from how the state currently handles ethics accusations against executive branch officials.

It's also different from how the state Board of Elections, for example, handles similar complaints of wrongdoing against candidates and lawmakers: Elections complaints and hearings are conducted in the open.

Now, an ethics complaint lodged against the governor or another high-ranking state official becomes public when it reaches a formal hearing. The hearing is also conducted in the open, and reports on the matter are made available to the public.

The process is outlined in an executive order from the governor. Currently, there is no state ethics law.

Legislators, who have written rules about policing themselves on ethics, keep complaints and hearings private unless the lawmaker who is subject of a complaint wants it out in the open.

A series of scandals in recent months has prompted talk of reform, and legislators are working on new laws as the legislative session winds up. They could finish this week.

A broad-based reform group is calling attention to the closed aspect of ethics complaints in the legislation, as well as other details still up in the air.

Reformers worry about loopholes in efforts to restrict gift-giving to lawmakers. They also question whether enough is being done to prohibit lobbyists from gathering campaign money for legislators.

Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina and a member of the reform group said making ethics complaints and hearings open to the public is important for transparency. "It's a mistake to have blanket provisions that it's all confidential," Hall said. "It ought to be open."

Sen. Tony Rand, a leading Democrat from Fayetteville, filed a bill early on that kept ethics hearings open to the public.

But he recently defended the idea of keeping hearings closed, saying that legislators are worried about frivolous complaints tarnishing someone's good name.

Besides, he said, there is nothing to prohibit someone who files a complaint from releasing it to the public or news organizations.

Perry Newson, who heads the state's ethics board, said that he does not see a problem with allowing for openness at certain stages of a complaint, but that he also has a concern about damage caused by frivolous actions.

"But once you get to a point where a complaint has some merit and/or when it gets to a hearing, then absolutely, it should be public," Newson said. "Both the complaint and response should become public then."

Under the bill now being reviewed, the only way ethics complaints would become known is "at such time as public sanctions are imposed."

Gov. Mike Easley's office has been following the issue but said Monday that it's too early to comment on a potential outcome.

"This is all still a moving target," Easley spokeswoman Sherri Johnson said.