A new, permanent panel formed to advise state and local officials about their conflict-of-interest questions and whether gifts of travel, lodging, or meals are permissible has held its inaugural meeting.
The Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council is composed of state lawmakers, former judges, and citizens appointed by the House, Senate, and Governor McAuliffe. But developing the practical rules for carrying out the updated state ethics laws is still a work in progress.
The members first elected two former judges as chair and vice-chair and then delegated day-to-day administrative duties to their staff. Senator Tommie Norment said the law’s public disclosure exemption for informal advice needs clarification.
“You’re going to need to give some very serious consideration to this whole attorney-client relationship and what the parameters of it are.”
Council member Bernard Henderson argued that people should not be allowed to ask for formal opinions by phone.
“I am concerned that there are lots of nuances in conversations that might misdirect the point.”
The panel agreed. Senator Janet Howell said some conflict-of-interest forms are still confusing.
“If you were to look at, say, the securities form or the liabilities form, you would find a wide range of what people are reporting. And that says to me that it’s not at all clear.”
The staff said they will work to make those rules more uniform. The Council also agreed that formal opinions will be posted online for the public to see—with personal information redacted.
Other members urged the council to decide soon whether to ask the General Assembly to remove the conflict-of-interest forms themselves from the law to enable the council to clarify potentially imprecise terms or contradictory directions.
