Ethics bill to move forward

A bill that would prohibit the state auditor from enforcing the state's Ethics Act will move forward.

The Legislative Ethics Committee voted to have the bill filed with the understanding that it's still got some kinks to fix. The bill would designate the N.C. State Ethics Commission, created in 2007 in response to a series of scandals, as the sole entity charged with enforcing the act.

The bill has come up because State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, has investigated a legislator for potential ethics violations. He supports having the ability to investigate ethics violations. Ethics Commission members and staff say that the commission is best suited to the job.

Merritt's chief deputy, Kris Bailey, told the committee Tuesday that the bill could interfere with the auditor's ability to do his job. At the minimum, audits would have to carry a sentence stating that the audit might be incomplete because of the limitations placed upon his office by state law.

Figuring out how to keep the auditor from the ethics act without interfering with his other duties will be the next task for the committee, members said.