State Ethics Commissions: Jurisdiction

8/6/2020

Oversight

Contact

State ethics commissions are primarily responsible for enforcing government ethics laws. However, over whom a commission may exercise authority varies widely. Jurisdiction may include legislators, executive branch officials, candidates, state employees, employees of a particular branch, local officials, lobbyists, vendors or any combination thereof. In a few states, even judges may be subject to ethics commission oversight.

The chart on this page provides a quick guide the jurisdiction of state ethics commissions over specified branches of government and types of individuals. 'X' indicates that the commission has at least some authority. The bottom row of the table lists the total number of commissions in each state, plus D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, that exercise authority over a given group.

Note that a commission may have power over a group, but that power might be limited, such as for commissions that are authorized to give advisory opinions but cannot issue sanctions. States may also have more than one ethics or ethics-related commission. For additional information about the authority of each state ethics commission, refer to this table.

This table is intended to provide general information and does not necessarily address all aspects of this topic. Because the facts of each situation may vary, this information may need to be supplemented by consulting legal advisors. All content is up to date through 08/05/2020.

Ethics Commissions Jurisdiction
State Commission Name & Citations Legislative Branch Executive Branch Candidates Local Officials Lobbyists Vendors
Alabama

State Ethics Commission

(Ala. Code § 36-25-1 to Ala. Code § 36-25-30)

X

X

X

X

 X

 
Alaska

Select Committee on Legislative Ethics

(AS § 24.60.130 to AS § 24.60.178)

 X          
 

Public Offices Commission

(AS § 15.13.010; AS § 15.13.020; AS § 15.13.030; AS § 15.13.040; AS § 15.13.045)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Arizona

No ethics commission

            
Arkansas

State Ethics Commission

(Ark. Code Ann. § 7-6-217)

X

X

X

X

X

 
California

Fair Political Practices Commission

(CA Code §83100-83124)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Colorado

State Independent Ethics Commission

(CO Constitution Art. XXIX)

X

X

 

X

X

X
Connecticut

State Ethics Commission

(C.G.S.A. § 1-79 to C.G.S.A. § 1-101rr)

X

X

X

 

X

X
Delaware

State Public Integrity Commission

(29 Del.C. § 5801 to 5839)

X

X

 

 

X

 

 
Florida

State Commission on Ethics

(West's F.S.A. Const. Art. 2 § 8; West's F.S.A. § 112.311 to West's F.S.A. § 112.3261)

X

X

 X

X

X

 
Georgia

Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission

(Ga. Code Ann. § 21-5-4 to Ga. Code Ann. § 21-5-76)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Guam

State Ethics Commission

(4 G.C.A. § 15101; 4 G.C.A. § 15102)

 X X        
Hawaii

State Ethics Commission

(HI Rev. Stat. § 84-2)

X

X

X

 

 

 
Idaho

No ethics commission

            
Illinois

Legislative Ethics Commission

(5 ILCS 430/25-5)

X

 

 

 

 

 
 

Executive Ethics Commission

(5 ILCS 430/20-5)

  

X

 

 

X

X
Indiana

State Ethics Commission

(IC 4-2-6-2.5)

 

X

 X   X

X
 

Lobby Registration Commission

(IC 2-7-1.6-1)

        

X

  
Iowa

Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board

(I.C.A. § 68B.34A; I.C.A. § 68B.32A)

X

(Jurisdiction limited)

X

X

 

 

X

(Executive only)

 
Kansas

Governmental Ethics Commission

(Kan. Stat. Ann. § 46-253)

X

X

X

 

X

 
Kentucky

Legislative Ethics Commission

(KRS § 6.651; KRS § 6.666)

X

 

 

 

X

 
 

Executive Ethics Commission

(KRS § 11A.060; KRS § 11A.010; KRS § 11A.050)

  

 X

 X

 

X

  
Louisiana

State Board of Ethics

(RSA 42:1132)

X

X

X

 X

X

 X
Maine

Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices

(1 M.R.S.A. § 1008)

X

 

X

 

X

 

 
Maryland

State Ethics Commission

(MD Code, General Provisions, § 5-205)

X

X

 

X

X

 

X
Massachusetts

State Ethics Commission

(M.G.L.A. 268B § 1 to M.G.L.A. 268B § 8)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Michigan

State Board of Ethics

(Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 15.343)

 

X

(State employees and appointed officials only.)

 

 

 

 
Minnesota

Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board

(M.S.A. § 10A.022)

X

X

X

X

 

X

 
Mississippi

State Ethics Commission

(Miss. Code Ann. § 25-4-17; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-4-19; Miss. Code Ann. § 25-4-21)

X

X

X

 

 

 
Missouri

State Ethics Commission

MO Rev. Stat. § 105.955; MO Rev. Stat. § 105.450)

X

X

X

 

X

 
Montana

Commissioner of Political Practices

(MCA 13-37-111)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Nebraska

Accountability and Disclosure Commission

(Neb. Rev. St. § 49-14,123)

X

X

 

X

 

 

X

 
Nevada

State Commission on Ethics

(N.R.S. 281A.280; N.R.S. 281A.160)

 X

X

 

X

 

 
New Hampshire

No ethics commission

 

    

 

 

    
New Jersey

Election Law Enforcement Commission

(N.J.A.C. 19:25–1.7)

X

X

X

X

 

 
 

State Ethics Commission

(N.J.A.C. 19:61–2.1)

 

X

 

 

    
New Mexico

State Ethics Commission. NM ST § 10-16G-5.

 X X X   X X
New York

Joint Commission on Public Ethics

(N.Y. Exec. Law § 94)

X (limited)

X

 

 

X

 
 

State Legislative Ethics Commission

Legislative Law § 80

X

 

X

 

 

 
North Carolina

State Ethics Commission

(N.C.G.S.A. § 163A-156; N.C.G.S.A. § 163A-152; N.C.G.S.A. § 163A-155)

X

X

X

 

X

 
North Dakota

State Ethics Commission

(N.D. Const. Art. 14, N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 54-66-01 through 54-66-16.)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Ohio

State Ethics Commission

(Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 102.06; R.C. § 102.02; R.C. § 102.01)

 

X

X

 

 

 
Oklahoma

State Ethics Commission

(OK Const. Art. 29, § 3)

X

X

X

X

X

 
Oregon

Governmental Ethics Commission

(O.R.S. § 171.776; O.R.S. § 171.772; O.R.S. § 171.778; O.R.S. § 171.756; 244.050)

X

X

 

X

X

 

 
Pennsylvania

State Ethics Commission

(65 Pa.C.S.A. § 1107; 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 1104)

X

X

 

X

 X

 
Puerto Rico

Office of Government Ethics

(3 L.P.R.A. § 1855b; 3 L.P.R.A. § 1854)

 X X   X    
 

State Election Commission

(16 L.P.R.A. § 4012)

 X X X X    
 

Procurement Programs Regulatory Board

(3 L.P.R.A. § 933a)

          

X
Rhode Island

State Ethics Commission

(36 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 36-14-8; Gen.Laws 1956, § 36-14-9; Gen.Laws 1956, § 36-14.1-4; Gen.Laws 1956, § 36-14-4)

X

X

 

X

 

X
South Carolina

State Ethics Commission

(S.C. Code Ann. § 8-13-320; Code 1976 § 8-13-540)

X

X

X

X

X

 
South Dakota

State Government Accountability Board

(S.D. Codified Laws § 3-24-3)

 

X

 

 

 

 
Tennessee

Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance

(TN Code Ann. § 3-6-106)

X

X

 

 

X

 
Texas

State Ethics Commission

(V.T.C.A., Government Code § 571.061)

X

X

X

X

X

X
Utah

Independent Legislative Ethics Commission

(Utah Const. art. VI, § 10)

X

 

 

 

 

 
Vermont

State Ethics Commission

(Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 3, § 1221)

X

X

X

 

 

 
Virginia

Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council

(VA Code Ann. § 30-356; VA Code Ann. § 30-355)

X

X

 

X

X

 
Virgin Islands No ethics commission            
Washington

State Legislative Ethics Board

RCW 42.52.320

X

 

 

 

 

 
 

State Executive Ethics Board

RCW 42.52.360

 

X

 

 

 

 
 

Public Disclosure Commission

RCW 42.17A.105

X

X

X

X

X

 
West Virginia

State Ethics Commission

(W. Va. Code, § 6B-2-2; W. Va. Code Ann. § 6B-2-3)

X

X

 

X

X

 
Wisconsin

State Ethics Commission

(W.S.A. 19.48; W.S.A. 15.62; Wis. Stat. Ann. § 19.49)

X

X

X

 

X

 
Wyoming

No ethics commission