NCPE Town Hall Meeting

Join us on June 28, 2008 for the Third NCPE Town Hall Meeting.

NCPE in the News: 2008

"Court Hopeful Says Consultant Pitched Deal" (Las Vegas Review Journal)

"Given $50,000 He Decides to Run" (Las Vegas Sun)

Acting President Julie Tousa on Jon Ralston's "Face to Face: Ethics Complaint"

Meet the Acting President of NCPE, Julie Tousa

"New Watchdog of Public Ethics Continues Enforcing Vital Unwritten Law" (Las Vegas Review Journal)

"Partying Away As Taxpayers Pay and Pay" (Las Vegas Sun)

Ethics Legislation 2007

NCPE at the 2007 Nevada State Legislature: Summary and Details

"Article 6 Commission" to study and recommend improvements in the Nevada judiciary
See Dr. Craig Walton's summary of May Meeting

NCPE statement about the danger of big donors contributing to Supreme Court justice election campaigns.

Judicial Ethics & the Complaint Processes

Craig Walton's letter, to the Las Vegas Business Journal in favor of the new plan for judicial selection

Candidate Pledge

Email NCPE Treasurer

News and Reports

NCPE at NV Legislature
AB 143 - changes the NV. Commission on Ethics deadline for completing an inquiry from 45 days to 1 year, and also allows the complainee to be told what is happening to his or her complaint.

February 26, 2007

TO:       Assemblywoman and Chair Ellen Koivisto, and Committee Members,  Assembly Committee on Elections, Procedures, Ethics and Constitutional Amendments

Dear Chairwoman Koivisto and Members:

            Concerning AB 143, we speak in qualified support, and want to share this comment. We shall attend the hearing tomorrow.  We did call Assemblyman Dr. Hardy, who knows this is coming, but he has not seen the text.

                        Our Comment: Currently the 45-day limit is rarely if ever met. In part this is due to the slow pace of some investigations, and in part because the complainee can stretch it out by withholding documents or forcing the NCOE to get subpoenas, even go to court. 
                        On the other hand, delays can weaken the impact of the NCOE, and bring down its credibility in the eyes of the public, which is a bad policy outcome.
                        So, If AB 143 allows up to 90 days, that would be more realistic than one year. But in any case, there needs to be wording requiring that the NCOE act as promptly as possible.  We know from bitter experience that complainees find it in their best interest to stall these inquiries in the hope that the public will forget what they did.  There must be some language to require that the investigation and, if required, the hearing, should come about in as timely a manner as possible, and as promptly as possible.  With that provision, then the “up to 90 days” could be useful.
                        BUT:  What if “90 days”  refers to an advisory opinion requested by a public official?  A 90-day delay might make the advisory useless; one year would be sure to be useless.  Again, therefore, the need for some sense of timely and prompt handling is needed in the case of advisory opinions.
                        On the second point, giving the complainer or advisory requester an update at some point, this idea is long overdue : currently the complainee is not allowed to know anything about his or her complaint unless or until something shows up in the newspapers.. 

Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Craig Walton

FROM:    Dr. Craig Walton, President, and Members, Nevada Center for Public Ethics
Fax 1-702-395-2876

Go to other 2007 testimonies

AB 80, to require Limited Liability Corporations (LLC’s) to report contributions. As to the relationship to NCPE's 11 proposals, AB 80, is close to NCPE's proposal on p. 1 of our doc.

AB 109, - allows leftover campaign monies to go to a public-purpose Trust Fund.

AB 143 - changes the NV. Commission on Ethics deadline for completing an inquiry from 45 days to 1 year, and also allows the complainee to be told what is happening to his or her complaint. Click to read status as of 3/29/07

SJR 1 - removes the requirement that affidavits be provided with ballot initiative petitions.

SB 79 - brings our statutes into line with a court ruling that the affidavit requirement for ballot petitions is a violation of the First Amendment.

SB 144, to require Limited Liability Corporations (LLC's) to report contributions.

AB 142, to require ethics instruction and lobbyists to the Executive Dept. to register and report expenditures.

AB 335 - dealing with campaign disclosure

SB 425 - to new detail on political contributions, and to include legal defense funds in that category.

AB 312, dealing with campaign disclosure

AB 605 requires ethics training for new public officers and also for lobbyists, forbids the use of one’s office staff or equipment for campaign purposes, and doubles the three levels of penalties for violating ethics laws.

SB 495 provides a one-year cooling off period for persons leaving the Public Utilities Commission, the Gaming Control Board, or “former public officers or employees”.
         Original Testimony
         Revised Comments

SB 494 - dealing with primary, general, and municipal elections, SB 494 changes the filing deadline for campaign contribution reports.