UPDATED: The State Ethics Commission received 54 complaints last year but a small portion led to a settlement or referral for criminal prosecution, according to statistics released Friday.
Only 13 complaints met the threshold for a preliminary investigation and nine were dismissed, the bulk of which for insufficient information. Two complaints were settled and another two were sent to prosecutors.
The 2011 year-end report gives no details about the complaints. But the statistics offer one of the few views inside the work of one of North Carolina's most secretive tax-payer funded agencies.
The commission investigates complaints made against public board appointees, lobbyists, elected officials and others under the State Government Ethics Act, approved by state lawmakers in 2006.
But the state law includes broad provisions that hide many of the commissions actions from public view. In particular, it prohibits the commission from publicly disclosing the details of all complaints, making it impossible for the public to assess the merits of the case and resolution.
The statistics show that two complaints involved possible lobbying law violations, with two more carried forward from the previous year.
Two lobbying complaints met the criteria for an investigation with one settled and one referred for criminal prosecution, the data show. The state agency is still considering four complaints.
In addition to investigating complaints, the commission also issues formal and informal advisory opinions to those who request clarification of the law. The agency issued seven formal opinions and responded to 686 informal requests in 2011, both an increase from the prior year.
The informal requests are confidential but the commission released broad details showing that 42 percent involved the state's rules governing gifts to public officials and 27 percent involved the lobbying laws, whether registration, reporting obligations or other questions. Another 15 percent asked for help in determining whether a conflict of interest existed.
The statistics show that the most requests in 2011 occurred in February and March when the legislature was in session.
