Easley: Reforms help, but state cleanup is not over

Gov. Mike Easley signed government ethics reforms into law Thursday, but he said the work was not done.

At a news conference in the state Capitol, Easley said three bills passed by the legislature were part of an ongoing process of cleaning up state government.

"This will be a continuing issue for us," he said.

The new laws make hearings by the state ethics commission open to the public, set limits on donations to legal defense funds set up by lawmakers and clarify ethics regulations passed in previous years. The laws also require public disclosure of contributions to legal defense funds.

The reforms are intended to clean up some of the problems revealed by recent political scandals. Former House Speaker Jim Black was sentenced for accepting illegal cash donations from chiropractors, and Reps. Thomas Wright and Mary McAllister had campaign finance problems. All three are Democrats.

Easley, a Democrat, praised the new openness of ethics hearings. He said public officials who have done nothing wrong will welcome the chance to air their side of the story.

"It gives officials the chance to show they did nothing wrong," he said. "It's good for the public officials, it's good for the public, it's good for everybody to hear both sides."

Easley was joined at the signing ceremony by Democratic Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin of Rockingham, who sponsored the legal defense fund bill; Judge Robert L. Farmer, head of the N.C. Ethics Commission; Perry Newson, its executive director; and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

Newson said that the commission, created Jan. 1, has issued hundreds of advisory opinions, most of which have not yet been made public. By law, it is required to publish redacted versions by the end of the year.