Ethics Commissions: Gathering Momentum or Under Fire?

State ethics commissions are charged with enforcing ethics laws, although their jurisdictions—which can include elected and appointed officials, staff, candidates and lobbyists—vary. Across the country, they are gathering momentum or are under fire, depending on where you look. Forty-eight ethics commissions or oversight boards exist in 41 states, and the number is growing. Utah’s commission is the most recently created. Voters there approved a legislature-referred constitutional amendment in the November 2010 general election.

In 2010, Missouri gave the Missouri Ethics Commission power to investigate ethics violations. New Mexico and Virginia considered bills to establish an external oversight board. Alabama, Georgia and Hawaii attempted to broaden the powers of their ethics commissions. Although these efforts failed, they demonstrate the importance legislatures place on an effective ethics oversight mechanism.