GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2009
SESSION LAW 2009-10
SENATE BILL 136
AN ACT to provide for four‑year staggered terms of office for members of the legislative ethics committee and to amend the timing of Ethics training for LEGISLATORS as recommended by the legislative ethics committee.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 120‑99 reads as rewritten:
"§ 120‑99. Creation; composition.
(a) The Legislative Ethics
Committee is created and shall consist of 12 members, six Senators appointed by
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, among them – three from a list of
six submitted by the Majority Leader and three from a list of six submitted by
the Minority Leader, and six members of the House of Representatives
appointed by the Speaker of the House, among them – three from a list of six
submitted by the Majority Leader and three from a list of six submitted by the
Minority Leader. House. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint
three members from a list of nominees submitted by the majority leader of the
Senate and three members from a list of nominees submitted by the minority leader
of the Senate. The Speaker of the House shall appoint three members from a list
of nominees submitted by the majority leader of the House and three members
from a list of nominees submitted by the minority leader of the House. The
nominating majority or minority leader shall submit to the person making the
appointment a list of twice the number of vacancies on the Committee that are
to be filled from that leader's nominees.
(b) The President Pro
Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House as the appointing officers
shall each designate a cochair of the Legislative Ethics Committee from the
respective officer's appointees.appointees to serve as cochair for
the current General Assembly, and until the cochair's successor is designated. The
cochair appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall preside over
the Legislative Ethics Committee during the odd‑numbered year, and the
cochair appointed by the Speaker of the House shall preside in the even‑numbered
year. However, a A cochair may preside at anytime during the
absence of the presiding cochair or upon the presiding cochair's designation.
In the event a cochair is unable to act as cochair on a specific matter before
the Legislative Ethics Committee, and so indicates in writing to the appointing
officer and the Legislative Ethics Committee, the respective officer shall
designate from that officer's appointees a member to serve as cochair for that
specific matter.
(c) Repealed by Session Laws 2006‑201, s. 8, effective January 1, 2007.
(d) The appointments of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall ensure that the composition of the Legislative Ethics Committee is bipartisan in equal numbers."
SECTION 2. G.S. 120‑100 reads as rewritten:
"§ 120‑100. Term of office; vacancies.
(a) Appointments to the
Legislative Ethics Committee shall be made immediately after the convening of
the regular session of the General Assembly in odd‑numbered years, and
appointees shall serve until the expiration of their then‑current terms
as members of the General Assembly.years. The term of office for members
of the Legislative Ethics Committee shall be four years from the date of the
convening of the General Assembly in which the member is appointed to the Committee.
Members shall not serve two consecutive full terms.
(b) A vacancy occurs on
the Legislative Ethics Committee when a member resigns or is no longer a member
of the General Assembly. A vacancy occurring for any reason during a term
shall be filled for the unexpired term by the authority making the appointment
which caused the vacancy, and the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall,
if possible, be a member of the same political party as the member who caused
the vacancy.vacancy, from a list of two nominees submitted by that
party's leader.
(c) In the event a member of the Legislative Ethics Committee is unable to act on a specific matter before the Legislative Ethics Committee, and so indicates in writing to the appointing officer and the Legislative Ethics Committee, the appointing officer may appoint another member of the respective chamber from a list of two members submitted by the majority leader or minority leader who nominated the member who is unable to act on the matter to serve as a member of the Legislative Ethics Committee for the specific matter only. If on any specific matter, the number of members of the Legislative Ethics Committee who are unable to act on a specific matter exceeds four members, the appropriate appointing officer shall appoint other members of the General Assembly to serve as members of the Legislative Ethics Committee for that specific matter only."
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding G.S. 120‑100(a) as amended in Section 2 of this act, legislators appointed as members of the Legislative Ethics Committee for the 2009 General Assembly shall serve initial terms as follows:
(1) Two senators appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the Senate and one senator appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the majority leader of the Senate shall be designated by the President Pro Tempore as having a term of two years. Two senators appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the majority leader of the Senate and one senator appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the Senate shall be designated by the President Pro Tempore as having a term of four years.
(2) Two representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the House and one representative appointed by the Speaker of the House upon the recommendation of the majority leader of the House shall be designated by the Speaker as having a term of two years. Two representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House upon the recommendation of the majority leader of the House and one representative appointed by the Speaker of the House upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the House shall be designated by the Speaker as having a term of four years.
SECTION 4. G.S. 138A‑14(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c) The Commission,
jointly with the Committee, shall make basic ethics education and awareness
presentations to all legislators and legislative employees upon their election,
reelection, appointment, or employment and shall offer periodic refresher
presentations as the Commission and the Committee deem appropriate. Every legislator
and legislative employee shall participate in an ethics presentation
approved by the Commission and Committee within three two months
of either the convening of the General Assembly to which the legislator
is elected or within two months of the legislator's appointment,
whichever is later. legislative employee's election, reelection,
appointment, orEvery legislative employee shall participate in an ethics
presentation approved by the Commission and Committee within three months of
employment, and every legislative employee shall attend refresher ethics
education presentations at least every two years thereafter, in a manner as the
Commission and Committee deem appropriate."
SECTION 5. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of March, 2009.
s/ Walter H. Dalton
President of the Senate
s/ William L. Wainwright
Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
Governor
Approved 4:54 p.m. this 26th day of March, 2009