§ 1 §1002 — Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices

1.
Membership.
1-A.
Membership.
The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, established by Title 5, section 12004‑G, subsection 33 and referred to in this chapter as the "commission," consists of 5 members appointed as follows.
2.
Qualifications.
The members of the commission must be persons of recognized judgment, probity and objectivity. A person may not be appointed to this commission who is a member of the Legislature or who was a member of the previous Legislature, who was a declared candidate for an elective county, state or federal office within 2 years prior to the appointment or who now holds an elective county, state or federal office. A person may not serve on the commission who is an officer, director, employee or primary decision maker of a party committee, political action committee or candidate committee authorized under Title 21‑A, section 1013‑A, subsection 1, paragraph B.
2-A.
Conflict of interest.
This subsection governs conflicts of interest of members of the commission.
2-B.
Annual disclosure statement.
Each member shall file a disclosure statement with the executive director of the commission by February 15th of each year, which must include:
3.
Oath.
Each member, within 10 days of that member's appointment, shall take an oath of office to faithfully discharge the duties of a commissioner in the form prescribed by the Constitution. Such oath must be subscribed to by the commissioner taking it, certified by the officer before whom it is taken and immediately filed in the Office of the Secretary of State.
4.
Legislative per diem.
The members of the commission are entitled to receive legislative per diem according to Title 5, chapter 379.
5.
Employees.
The commission shall employ an executive director and such other assistance as may be necessary to carry out its duties. The commission also shall retain a general counsel or a computer analyst as an employee of the commission, based on the staffing needs of the executive director. If the commission employs a general counsel, the general counsel may not hold any other state office or otherwise be employed by the State. The commission shall select the executive director by an affirmative vote of at least 4 commission members.
6.
Prohibited activities.
A member of the commission may not engage in political fund-raising to promote the election or defeat of a candidate, passage or defeat of a ballot measure or endorse a political candidate. This prohibition does not apply to fund-raising for campaigns or endorsement of candidates at the county or municipal level or out-of-state nonfederal elections.
7.
Removal of members.
A member of the commission may be removed by the Governor for inefficiency, willful neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, engaging in prohibited activities or failure to continually meet the qualifications set out by this section or to comply with the disclosure requirements, but only with the review and concurrence of the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election practices and legislative ethics upon hearing in executive session, or impeachment by the Legislature. Before removing a board member, the Governor shall notify the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the removal and the reasons for the removal.

Legislative History

PL 1975, c. 621, §1 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 812, §1 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 503, §B1 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 86 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 880, §1 (AMD). IB 1995, c. 1, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 430, §1 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 470, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 381, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 271, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 295, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 252, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 571, §§1-4 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 323, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 635, §1 (AMD). RR 2023, c. 1, Pt. C, §18 (COR).