Ethics

Local Government Code of Ethics

H 1452 passed the General Assembly during the 2009 Session and is applicable to school boards along with other local government entities.  The bill requires the governing body to adopt a Code of Ethics on or before January 1, 2011. 

Additionally, each member of the board is required to have 2 hours of ethics training within 12 months of being elected or appointed to office and within 12 months of each re-election or re-appointment.  All current school board members must complete the 2 hours by December 31, 2010.  The 2 hours may be applied to the annual 12 hours of training already required of school board members.

The Development of Ethics Legislation in NC

Since 2006, the General Assembly has spent a large amount of time addressing the ethics issues in and around state government.  Part of the reform legislation includes mandatory ethics training of all state-level “public servants,” including legislators.  Legislators and legislative employees must participate in (i) an ethics presentation within three (3) months of their election, reelection, appointment, or employment and (ii) a lobbying presentation within six (6) months of their election, appointment, or hiring.

The North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform approached a group of legislators, who had traditionally worked on ethics issues to begin a discussion of ethics reform for local governments.   The legislators pulled together a group including representatives of the North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, the North Carolina School Boards Association, the North Carolina County Commissioners Association, the North Carolina League of Municipalities and the School of Government at UNC-CH. 

After hearing the concerns of the North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, the other organizations worked together to address some of the concerns raised and suggested the components of the legislation that passed.  The groups agreed that it was better to work cooperatively to address local government ethics issues and to be part of the process rather than be a deterrent.  The working group concluded that the two changes were both beneficial and manageable for local governments to implement.