SUMMARY   LC 14 9927

This legislation provides that all 180 elected school boards (and other elected local governing bodies such as counties and cities throughout the state) must by January 1, 2010, provide -- either by ordinance or resolution -- for the establishment and operation of an ethics panel.  

Each panel will be charged with receiving and deciding upon complaints made by citizens.  Each panel is obligated to meet quarterly (unless no complaints are pending), decide upon the validity of complaints, and report local school board violations to the State Department of Education; as a result, the State Board of Education may withhold a portion of a school system's funding until the violation is "cured."

REQUIREMENTS

• Each elected board of education must be included in coverage of the bill's provisions.
• By no later than January 1, 2010, each local board must provide for the establishment and operation of an ethics panel.
• The requirements of the bill shall have been satisfied if prior to July 1, 2009 an ordinance or resolution is adopted by the local board that sets forth a mechanism for the filing, review, and disposition of ethics complaints, subject nonetheless to the minimum requirements in the bill.   
• Ethics panels must have regularly scheduled meetings at least once each calendar quarter, but they may be cancelled if there is no pending complaint and no other business to come before the panel.
• Ethics panels shall have jurisdiction to investigate citizen complaints of alleged unethical conduct on the part of members, and only if provided in the ordinance, they may investigate complaints about other officers, agents, and employees of the local board.
• Each ethics panel shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence germane to its jurisdiction.
• Upon application of an ethics panel, the superior court shall have jurisdiction to enforce a subpoena issued by a panel by order of the court and to punish disobedience of any such order as contempt of court.
• Each local board and the panel shall enjoy sovereign immunity from liability for the acts or omissions of an ethics panel.
• Each ethics panel shall have the jurisdiction and powers as specified in the enabling ordinance or resolution, but no less than the following:
  1. Report suspected violations of a state criminal statute or a local ordinance to the appropriate prosecuting attorney;
  2. Report suspected violations that are enforced by the State Ethics Commission to the State Ethics Commission;
  3. Report any suspected disqualification from holding office to the appropriate officer or agency having the power to fill the vacancy;
  4. Issue a public reprimand to where it finds that a member of the local board has violated any general law, local law, ordinance, or policy of the local board and the violation relates to such member's performance of his or her duties; 
  5. Impose a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation for violations in the areas cited in 4. above;
  6. Dismiss frivolous complaints;
  7. Require complainants to submit a signed affidavit with each complaint; and
  8. Impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 on complainants submitting frivolous complaints or complaints lacking an evidentiary basis.
     
• Appeals from a decision of an ethics panel shall be by a de novo action in the superior court.
• Each local board must report its compliance with the requirements in this bill to the Department of Education, in such manner as specified by the department, no later than January 1, 2010.
• In case of noncompliance by a local board, the department shall withhold a portion of state funds otherwise payable to the affected local school system, as specified by the State Board of Education, until compliance is cured.
• Members of the ethics panels shall be subject to removal for willfully failing to provide a hearing on any complaint or otherwise willfully fail to carry out the duties of the ethics panel.
  

POINTS TO CONSIDER

• This legislation creates a process whereby any citizen can get a public forum to complain about any locally elected school board member.
• This legislation would make it possible for board members to bring claims against each other.
• There is  no definition of what "ethics" are to be enforced by the panel, and it is presumed that this would be defined  by each governing body; thus, across the state there would be rampant inconsistency as to what is being enforced.
• Given the panel's enumerated powers, it appears that they will only investigate alleged violations of law or of local policy.
• The panels' powers are to:
  • Report a violation of law to the local board (which citizens can now do directly);
  • Reprimand the board member guilty of a violation (which boards can do now); or
  • Fine the violating member up to $1,000 (which is certain to cause a lot of conflict for such little purpose)
• It is unclear what the process will be for the panel to review and act on complaints; however, the right to issue subpoenas implies a trial or hearing of some sort.  Worse still, the right to a de novo appeal to the Superior Court clearly implies a second potential trial in that court.
• Clearly, the creation of thousands of such panels across the state (180 for school boards alone) will provide more income for lawyers and promote more and even more bitter dissension on local governing bodies.
  
  

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This legislation, if passed, would become effective on July 1, 2009.