HB 655 - Governmental Ethics Summary

• Requires elected municipal officials to complete 4 hours of annual ethics training covering the state constitution, Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, and public records and public meetings laws, effective January 1, 2015.

• Authorizes state public officers to disclose voting conflicts using either a certificate of recusal or memorandum of disclosure; requires local public officers to use certificate of recusal; requires appointed public officers to use written memorandum of disclosure.

• Establishes civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 for complainants who file ethics complaints with malicious intent containing false allegations, and makes complainants liable for costs and attorney fees of the accused officer.

• Creates dismissal mechanism for conflict of interest complaints if the officer consulted with agency counsel, made full disclosure, received written opinion, and reasonably relied on that opinion before the challenged act.

• Prohibits political subdivisions from imposing additional ethics standards on officers and employees of other political subdivisions, while allowing each entity to set standards for its own officials.