Ethics panel scorns auditor

Bill gives power to commission

A potential ethics violation involving a legislator is at the heart of a dispute over which state agency has the right to enforce ethics laws.

But how the dispute is resolved could have implications beyond that one legislator, who has not been publicly identified. The dispute also could determine how much information the public will get when legislators are accused of ethical lapses.

At issue is enforcement of tougher state ethics laws passed over the past two years in the wake of a series of scandals involving public officials and legislators, including former House Speaker Jim Black. The law governs conflicts of interest and other issues for lawmakers, elected officials, appointed board members, university employees and thousands of public servants.

On Wednesday, the legislature's ethics committee agreed to a bill that would prohibit the state auditor from investigating possible violations of the ethics law. Instead, the State Ethics Commission would have sole authority to enforce ethics laws.

Legislative supporters of the bill, mostly Democrats, say their goal is to have a single, unbiased agency to keep an eye on public officials.

But State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, argues that it never hurts to have more watchdogs of government officials.

"In the wake of numerous prosecutions and otherwise sad issues in the last year, it is in the public interest to have multiple agencies sharing oversight responsibilities," said Frank Perry, director of investigations in Merritt's office.

Officials in Merritt's office argue also that giving the ethics commission sole authority to investigate such matters would mean essentially that only the legislature can keep an eye on legislators. That's because the commission is required to turn over any findings it has about lawmakers to a legislative committee, which then determines whether any public action should be taken.

Legislative leaders say there are good reasons -- based in politics and the state's constitution -- to keep the auditor out of the picture. The state Constitution prohibits executive branch agencies from sanctioning lawmakers.

Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, said the law was designed to have a nonpartisan commission, not an elected official such as the auditor, review ethics cases. The commission includes four Democrats and four Republicans.

"He's a political entity," Basnight said of Merritt. "He could be a Republican or a Democrat."

Public information

Much of the debate revolves around what should be public when legislators are accused of ethics violations.

Perry said the state needs either multiple agencies investigating ethics or a more open process for considering ethics violations by lawmakers. Currently, the legislative committee that considers those cases meets in closed session and does not have to release its findings, he said.

The draft bill discussed Wednesday would apply to any information the auditor has received since Jan. 1, 2007.

Merritt's staff says the case that pushed the dispute to the surface highlights the need for openness.

The case "is just the sort of situation that begs independent oversight," Tim Hoegemeyer, general counsel in Merritt's office, wrote in a letter to the legislature's ethics committee.

An anonymous tipster contacted the auditor's office about a potential ethics violation involving the legislator, Hoegemeyer wrote. Investigators pulled the legislator's ethics paperwork, which lists property holdings, business interests, stock portfolios and other economic interests.

"The contents of the subject's [filing] as well as the demeanor and conduct of the subject led us to doubt the veracity of statements made by the subject to our investigators," Hoegemeyer wrote.

In the course of its investigation, the auditor's office learned that the legislator had asked the Ethics Commission for an advisory opinion. The commission, which is required to keep much of its work secret, declined to help. Merritt's office finished its investigation and drafted a report on the legislator.

The ethics commission says it cannot by law discuss the case. Merritt's office has not yet released a report.

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, a Rockingham County Republican, said lawmakers shouldn't be too quick to shut out the auditor. Berger said he is concerned about the openness of ethics cases involving lawmakers.

"It seems to me from a policy standpoint that a process that either has some independence or openness, or both, is what we need as much as possible," he said.

Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, a nonpartisan government watchdog, said the state's new ethics system should be given a chance to work. He said he supports having the ethics commission enforce the ethics law.

"I think it's fair to trust that a bipartisan committee is going to find the right answer," Phillips said. "I think any introduction of a political office having any authority would be a mistake."

(Staff writers Dan Kane and Ryan Teague Beckwith contributed to this report.)