Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ethics Commission powers under scrutiny
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARSON CITY -- A state Senate panel on Monday discussed scaling back Nevada's ethics panel, as civil liberties advocates touted a separate Assembly measure that includes bigger changes.
The state Ethics Commission told the Government Affairs Committee the changes in SB147 are needed because of a 2001 federal court ruling that held two Nevada ethics laws were unconstitutional.
"We're not trying to weaken the statute in any manner," said Stacy Jennings, executive director of the ethics panel. "We're just trying to get something in statutes that we can enforce."
The bill would eliminate the panel's power to fine people who complain to it "in bad faith or with a vexatious purpose" up to $5,000.
Lawmakers have added new powers to the Nevada Ethics Commission over time. This would be the first effort to scale it back.
Civil liberties activists supported the bill's changes and others embodied in a separate Assembly measure.
That measure, AB127, strips away Nevada law permitting people to complain that others have made malicious or false statements with the intent to impede the success of an election campaign.
