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Ethics Oversight

Some states have established statutes commissions to enforce and oversee ethics laws or regulations. Other states have legislative committees that do these functions. Below are resources on these entities.

Disclosure

States often have laws requiring public officials and employees to file financial disclosure statements to ensure compliance with ethics laws. Below is the fiscal disclosure series which explains required information to be disclosed in the 50 states on income, potential conflicts of interest, connections to state agencies and gifts. 

Public Corruption

Public corruption laws are what people usually think of when they refer to ethics laws. Public corruption violations come in various forms including accepting certain types of gifts, participating in prohibited political activity, holding conflicts of interest, etc. Below are 50 state resources on various public corruption topics. 

 

Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of seeking to influence the government through oral or written communication. States regulate lobbyists to avoid improper influence on public officials. Below are 50 state resources on the measures states have taken to regulate lobbying and lobbyists.  

News, Podcasts and Webinars

 

Databases
NCSL tracks ethics legislation introduced in all 50 states. Below is a database for ethics legislation from 2024 to the present. For past legislation, please see our 2009-2023 database.
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Related Resources

Foreign Political Activity Disclosure

FARA requires foreign agents to disclose certain information about their work. States have enacted similar requirements that they maintain and enforce.

Honorarium Restrictions

States are divided between prohibiting and allowing honorarium for legislators. This chart shows how each state and territory deals with the issue.
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Legislator Gift Restrictions

Many states place looser limits on gifts from friends and family than gifts from lobbyists or others with an interest in influencing a legislator.
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