Hearing planned on ethics updates

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 | 8:57 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Ethics Commission conducts its final public hearing Oct. 8 on updated regulations, but most of the changes are minor.

Commission Executive Secretary Stacy Jennings said Tuesday there were no substantial changes in the rules by which the commission operates.

One change allows a person who files a complaint against a public officer to appeal to the commission if Jennings and Legal Counsel Nancy Lee Varnum decide the commission does not have jurisdiction.

Jennings said there currently is no appeal process if she and Varnum hold that the target of the complaint does not meet the definition of a public officer. Although not in the regulations, Jennings noted the last Legislature changed the law that annual financial disclosure statements must be filed Jan. 15 instead of March 31. Political candidates and elected officials now submit their financial statements to the secretary of state's office rather than the Ethics Commission.

There were workshops in Las Vegas and Carson City on the proposed ethics regulations and only one member of the public attended.

The public is welcome at next week's hearing, which will be videoconferenced to Room 4401 of the Sawyer State Office Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., in Las Vegas. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call (775) 687-1279.