BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The Latest on North Dakota’s Ethics Commission hearing its first complaint (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
North Dakota’s fledgling Ethics Commission has declined its first complaint.
The Bismarck Tribune reports that the five-person commission met in a 10-minute closed session Wednesday and then voted unanimously to decline the complaint on the basis that it falls outside the commission’s jurisdiction.
Retired district judge Ron Goodman, who chairs the commission, wouldn’t provide a copy of the complaint and referred questions to an assistant attorney general representing the commission. The assistant attorney general referred questions to an attorney general’s office spokeswoman.
It wasn’t immediately clear what might happen to the complaint or if it will be referred to another state agency.
The Ethics Commission is still figuring out rules and procedures for its work.
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5:30 a.m.
North Dakota’s fledgling Ethics Commission is due to hear its first complaint, even as the panel is still figuring out rules and procedures for its work.
And that means the complaint on this week’s agenda is likely to be pushed down the road until those systems are worked out.
The details of the complaint aren’t known, and it’s currently listed on the commission’s agenda for closed session during the two-day meeting that starts Wednesday.
The closed session is raising questions about how much of the commission’s work will be public.
Retired district judge Ron Goodman chairs the five-member panel. He says they are committed to transparency but also will protect confidentiality.
Goodman says the commission has not decided at what stage it would release details of an investigation.
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