BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — After months of delays, hearings have begun on state ethics violation cases under a new system of ethics enforcement enacted by lawmakers last year.
The first hearing by a three judge panel of administrative law judges was held Friday.
The hearing involved Mary Irvin. Irvin was charged with violating the ethics code because she received a stipend from the Town of Vivian while her husband served as a member of the town’s Board of Aldermen.
Officials say a decision in the case should be issued within a week.
The Louisiana Board of Ethics once had the power to decide whether an ethics violation occurred, but Gov. Bobby Jindal and state lawmakers shifted that power to the administrative law judges. They don’t work for the board and are selected by an appointee of the governor.
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Judges hear first ethics case – 1 p.m.
March 2, 2009