New Ethics Board learns limitations
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Louisiana’s new Ethics Board members Thursday questioned their roles in the wake of a new law that strips them of the power to decide conflicts of interest, nepotism and other violations.
It’s the same law that prompted mass board resignations in June, stymieing ethics law enforcement.
Ten of the 11 board members are new.
The discussion came during an educational seminar for appointees required prior to their being able to meet to conduct business.
At the training’s end, board members took an oath of office; set an Oct. 27 meeting date to begin tackling a major backlog of ethics cases; and launched the process to fill the vacant, chief ethics administrator-general counsel position.
Ethics Administrator Richard Sherburne also resigned, upset over the change in board functions.
The law, pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal and key legislators, takes away the board’s judicial authority to decide whether people have violated state ethics and other laws it polices.
The Ethics Board is left to investigate and decide whether charges should be filed. Ethics attorneys become prosecutors who try cases before a panel of administrative law judges hired by a governor’s appointee.
The board began struggling over just how far the authority of the administrative judges goes.
Under the new law, the Ethics Board must sign off on the law judges’ findings.
“Can the board disagree?” asked member Robert “Bob” Bareikis of Shreveport.
Ethics deputy general counsel Kathleen Allen said the board does not appear to have that authority under the new law.
“Then the board is expected to rubber stamp the administrative law judge finding?” asked board Jean Ingrassia of Gonzales.
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