The state auditor and the State Ethics Commission have ended a battle stemming from an investigation into the handling of then-Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's ethics files.

A state audit released today found that officials with the State Ethics Commission had not intentionally destroyed evidence in the matter, but did find that commission staff had not followed procedures in making the ethics statements available to the public, Dan Kane reports.

The case stems from a visit that Perdue's legal counsel, Will Polk, had made in October 2007, to review her ethics statements, which are an accounting of her financial interests. The statements are intended to help officials avoid conflicts of interest. Polk had been allowed to review the files behind closed doors. An aide, Amanda Thaxton, had noted in an electronic log that this was not the commission's policy; a staff email had told them not to let members of the public review ethics files without staff supervision.

Thaxton filed a complaint to the auditor's office, which then launched an investigation. She was later fired by the commission and has since filed a whistleblower's lawsuit that is pending in state court. The commission has denied that she was fired in retaliation. The audit did not address Thaxton's whistleblower claim. Copies of the log showed that her entry had been removed. But the auditor's report released today found that the change was made prior to the commission being notified of the auditor's investigation, so there was no evidence of tampering.

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The N.C. Ethics Commission is looking at whether it requires too much information on stock ownership.

Commissioners are wrapping up a legislatively mandated review of how well the two-year-old, updated version of the state ethics law has worked. On Friday they discussed whether the bar was too low in requiring state officials who must fill out a conflict of interests form to disclose any stock holdings worth $10,000 or more. Commissioners wondered aloud whether $100,000 was a more appropriate figure.

Executive Director Perry Newson agreed that most public officials shouldn't have to disclose stocks because nothing they do could affect the value. The commission's staff is going to research how other states handle the issue, and the commission could reccommend that the legislature raise the minimum.

The State Ethics Commission is asking a Superior Court judge to prevent State Auditor Les Merritt from investigating a claim of preferential treatment for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor.

The suit claims that Merritt's office has a conflict of interest because its investigations chief, Frank Perry, left the ethics commission a year ago. The suit also claims that Merritt, a Republican seeking re-election, "denigrated" the commission in an hour-long interview with a radio station.

It is a rare case in which one state agency is suing another, reports Dan Kane.

"The commission welcomes an independent and impartial investigation by an appropriate entity that is free from actual and/or perceived conflicts of interest," the suit said.

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The State Ethics Commission met for about three hours behind closed doors today to discuss personnel matters, but took no action and offered no comment afterward.

The regularly-scheduled meeting took place amid controversy within the commission. A report in June by a consultant to the Office of State Personnel found a work environment that was dysfunctional and distrustful, Dan Kane reports.

Last month the commission's executive director, Perry Newson, fired an office assistant who had raised questions about preferential treatment to an aide to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue. The aide had visited the commission to review Perdue's statements of financial interest.

The office assistant, Amanda Thaxton, had made a notation about the visit that was later erased from the log.

Thaxton was present at the opening of the meeting, but left after the commission went into a closed session. She has filed a grievance over her firing and said she wanted to be present in case the matter came up for public discussion.

Tim Hoegemeyer, general counsel for the State Auditor's Office, also attended the open session. The auditor is investigating how the aide's visit was handled, and its aftermath.

An office assistant at the State Ethics Commission has raised questions about its own ethics.

Ten months ago, Amanda Thaxton made a notation in a public records log when an aide to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue was allowed to review her financial disclosure forms alone.

The Perdue aide "reviewed files in ... office alone with door closed," she typed into an electronic log.

Six months later, Kathleen Edwards, the assistant director who let the Perdue aide review the records, found the notation and removed it. Last month, after an N&O reporter asked about the log, executive director Perry Newson fired Thaxton, giving no reason.

"I think it was probably more than coincidence," she said.

The state auditor's office is investigating the incident. (N&O) 

Two state agencies charged with cleaning up state government are fighting over who gets to hold the broom.

The N.C. State Ethics Commission, created in response to corruption scandals that sent powerful officials to prison, says it has the sole responsibility to enforce the state's ethics law.

State Auditor Les Merritt says the commission is prohibited by law from investigating anonymous complaints and that he has the right and duty to follow up on credible tips about problems in state government.

The debate has been quietly simmering since at least January. It boiled over Friday when the commission voted to ask the legislature to settle the dispute.

"We think the legislature gave it [the commission] the sole authority for implementing, interpreting, investigating and enforcing the ethics act," Perry Newson, executive director of the commission, said in an interview. "It's not the job of other agencies."

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So what has the Ethics Commission been up to?

State law requires the commission to keep secret much of its work. But once a year, the commission makes public the number of complaints it receives.

In 2007, the commission received 73 complaints. That's a lot, said Executive Director Perry Newson.

Only five of those met the legal requirments to move forward. Newson explained that many people seemed confused about what the commission does. Lots of complaints were against people the commission doesn't regulate, such as complaints filed against divorce lawyers by upset clients, Newson said Friday.

Others were improperly filed and the complainer dropped the matter, perhaps not wanting to swear to the allegations.

Of the five the commission accepted, two were dismissed after some investigation. Three remain pending before the commission.

Dome came close to ferreting out secret information this morning.

Okay, it wasn't any super-sleuthing on Dome's part. A member of the state Ethics Commission almost spilled the beans about an ethics case involving a senator.

By law, the commission has to consider ethics matters in closed session and even the names of people involved are secret.

But early in Friday's meeting, when commissioners received their standard reminder about conflicts of interest, member Jerry Blackmon raised his hand. He said he may have a potential conflict of interest when it comes to the matter of "Senator..."

That's when Commission chairman Robert Farmer and Executive Director Perry Newson stopped him. They would discuss the potential conflict in closed session, Newson said.

Trying to divine who Blackmon was talking about could be tough. Blackmon was a Mecklenburg County Commissioner in the 1980s and was a state senator through much of the 1990s. He was appointed upon the recommendation of senate leader Marc Basnight and has served on various boards.

After the ethics commission concluded and before the closed session began, Farmer suggested to reporters that they lobby the legislature to open up ethics proceedings.

The State Ethics Commission will publish about a dozen reports by the end of the year.

Since it was created in 2006, the commission has fielded more than 2,000 questions from legislators, lobbyists and volunteers, but it has not shown the advice to anyone else.

Executive Director Perry Newson said that it will make public redacted versions of some formal opinions by Jan. 1.

Formal opinions are basically a set of legal precedents to be followed in the future. Those who request them and follow their advice are immune from prosecution.

One outstanding opinion concerns the fundraising activities of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation. (GN&R) 

Twenty public officials have not filed disclosure forms.

The state ethics commission met this morning to decide what to do about the holdouts, reports Ryan Teague Beckwith.

The forms list real estate holdings, stock ownership and other financial information. Since Jan. 1, they have been required of some 4,500 appointed and elected officials, more than twice the number previously covered by a state ethics law.

Failure to turn in the form could lead to a $250 fine, a disciplinary action or removal from office.

Ethics commission Executive Director Perry Newson called today's meeting "historic."

He said he was pleased that less than one half of one percent of officials failed to properly turn the forms in.