A. Commission Organization
(1) The Arkansas Ethics Commission shall
consist of five (5) commissioners who shall be appointed as follows:
- one member by the Governor of the State of Arkansas
- one member by the Lieutenant Governor of the State of
Arkansas
- one member by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of
Arkansas
- one member by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate of
Arkansas
- one member by the Attorney General of Arkansas
(2) The Commission shall, at all
times, have among its five members:
- one member of a minority race
- one woman
- one member of a minority political party
(3) Each commissioner is expected to attend
all regularly scheduled meetings. Any commissioner who fails to attend three
(3) or more consecutive regularly scheduled meetings within a one year period
is subject to dismissal from the commission.
(4) The commissioners shall be appointed in
compliance with ACA §
7-6-217,
and shall serve for one term of five (5) years and so long as he or she
maintains good moral character. Provided, that any commissioner who has been
appointed to serve two (2) years or less of an unexpired term shall be eligible
for an appointment to a subsequent five-year term.
(5) The Commission shall annually elect one
of its members to serve as chairman for a term of one year. The Commission may
elect a vice-chairman and other such officers as a majority of the
Commissioners choose. The vice-chairman shall serve as chairman in the absence,
disqualification or disability of the chairman.
(6) The election of officers shall be
conducted at the first meeting of the Commission following January 1 of each
year. The Ethics Commission may form committees or subcommittees as it deems
necessary and/or appropriate to accomplish its legal aims and purpose. The
Ethics Commission may appoint one or more of its members to an unofficial
committee or subcommittee and may invite non-commissioners to participate as an
unofficial committee or subcommittee member.
(7) At each meeting of the Commission,
whether in person or by electronic or telephonic means, three members shall
serve as a quorum. However, an affirmative vote of at least three (3)
commissioners physically present at a meeting is required before any
sanction(s) can be imposed.
(8) A
majority of the members of the Commission present shall vote in the affirmative
on any matter before the Commission for any decision of the Commission to
become official. The following matters shall be by motion, followed by a
second, in order for a vote of the Commission to become final:
a. all matters requiring affirmative action
by the full Commission or one of its members;
b. all decisions on public positions taken by
the full Commission; and
c. all
decisions on advisory opinions and all decisions regarding official findings of
fact or actions regarding one accused of violating any ethics and disclosure
laws.
(9) The Commission
may by majority vote delegate the execution of any official action to its
chairman, one of its members, or the executive director.
(10) A vacancy on the Commission shall not
impair the right of the Commission to exercise its statutory powers and
authority, subject to the requirement that a quorum be present and
participating before any meeting of the Commission shall be considered
valid.
(11) A majority of the
membership of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for conducting business.
No action shall be taken except by an affirmative vote of a majority of those
present and voting. No sanctions shall be imposed without the affirmative vote
of at least three (3) members of the commission who are physically present at a
commission meeting. The vote of each member voting on any action shall be a
public record.
(12) No member of
the Commission shall be a federal, state or local government official or
employee, an elected public official, a candidate for public office, a lobbyist
as defined by Ark. Code Ann. §
21-8-402(11),
or an officer or paid employee of an organized political party as defined by
Ark. Code Ann. §
7-1-101(1).
(13) Each commissioner, during the entire
term of his or her service on the Arkansas Ethics Commission, shall be
prohibited from participating in, raising funds for, making contributions to,
providing services to, or lending his or her name in support of any candidate
for election to a state, district, county, municipal or school board office or
in support of a ballot issue or issues submitted or intended to be submitted to
voters of the state of Arkansas, excluding the exercise of the right to vote or
the mere signing of an initiative or referendum petition. This prohibition
shall not extend to the spouse or family members of a commissioner nor to his
or her business partners or professional associates.
B. STAFF ORGANIZATION
(1) The Ethics Commission shall employ and
appoint an executive director who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the
Commission, and whose duties and responsibilities shall be enumerated by the
Ethics Commission.
(2) The
executive director shall employ a staff, with the consent of the Ethics
Commission, to assist in the administration of the Ethics Commission office.
Administration of the ethics office shall be in compliance with the dictates of
Initiated Act 1 of 1990 and other relevant Arkansas law.
(3) The executive director shall be
responsible to the full Commission and shall not be answerable to any member
thereof. The executive director shall, however, insure that the chairman of the
Commission is advised of the progress and conduct of the employees and
operation of the Commission office.
(4) Though the hiring of the staff and
employees of the office shall be by consent of the Ethics Commission, such
employees, once approved for employment, shall be the responsibility of the
executive director in matters common to an employer/employee relationship, and
the executive director shall be responsible to the Commission for the actions
of employees on the staff.
(5) Each
member of the Commission staff, during the entire term of his or her service on
the Arkansas Ethics Commission, shall be prohibited from participating in,
raising funds for, making contributions to, providing services to, or lending
his or her name in support of any candidate for election to a state, district,
county, municipal or school board office or in support of a ballot issue or
issues submitted or intended to be submitted to the voters of the state of
Arkansas excluding the exercise of the right to vote or the mere signing of an
initiative or referendum petition. This prohibition shall not extend to the
spouse or family members of the employee, nor to his or her business partners
or professional associates.
C.
Meeting Times and Sites
(1) Meetings shall be regularly scheduled and
held, subject to cancellation or re-scheduling by majority vote of the members.
Should there fail to be a quorum at a scheduled meeting, then such meeting may
be rescheduled by the chairman provided all members are given reasonable notice
of the time and place of the rescheduled meeting. Emergency meetings of the
Commission may be called by the chairman, provided that the majority of the
members so consent. Commissioners may call a meeting by written request of
three or more commissioners.
(2)
The Commission may vary its meeting site to accommodate its needs and
accomplish it purposes.
(3) The
executive director shall prepare a proposed agenda for each meeting, and the
proposed agenda shall be distributed to the Commission members prior to any
scheduled meeting. Commissioners may add items to the agenda by notification to
the executive director twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled meeting
date. Any item may be added to the agenda at any time with the unanimous
consent of the Commission.
D. Meeting Procedure
(1) All meetings of the Commission shall be
governed by Robert's Rules of Order, except as may be modified by a majority of
the Commission members and by these rules and procedures.
(2) Any Commission member who has an actual
conflict or an apparent conflict of interest on any matter under investigation
or before the Commission for an official decision shall recuse voluntarily from
any official involvement in the Commission's handling of the matter. If the
Commission or a majority of its members determine that one of its members has a
conflict of interest on a matter before the Commission, they may by affirmative
vote disqualify said member from participation in the matter.
(3) At any meeting or the commission in which
an investigation or an appeal from the executive director's decisions shall be
heard, such investigatory matter or appeal shall be conducted after other
official business of the Commission shall be conducted.
E.
Freedom Of Information Act
(1) All meetings of the Commission, except as
provided in subparagraph (E)(2) , shall be open to the public. There shall be
notice given to the press and public of all commission meetings. If an
unscheduled meeting of the Commission is held by electronic or telephonic
means, the press shall be notified in advance of such meeting.
(2) Any portion of a Commission meeting at
which official complaints, including Commission initiated complaints, are heard
shall be by confidential session and not open to the public.
(3) All documents generated by or accepted by
the Commission and its staff shall be open to the public, except for matters
which are parts of confidential investigations and the advice and opinions of
the Commission's director or legal counsel when acting as the Commission
attorney on matters which may be considered to have occurred in an
attorney-client relationship.
(4)
All documents relating to the investigation of a complaint shall remain
confidential and not subject to disclosure, unless:
(a) the accused requests disclosure of the
documents; or
(b) there is a public
hearing by the Commission; or
(c)
there is judicial review of a Commission decision. However, thirty (30) days
after any final adjudication in which the Commission makes a finding of a
violation, all records relevant to the investigation and upon which the
Commission based its decision, except working papers of the Commission and its
staff, shall be open to public inspection.