Sandoval won't push Nevada Ethics Commission move

Attorney General Brian Sandoval says he'll drop a proposal to put the state Ethics Commission into his office if that's what the ethics panel wants.

During a hearing Tuesday, representatives of the commission that monitors campaign ethics and actions of Nevada's elected officials expressed concern about funding and the proposed shift.

"This was not a hostile takeover. It was merely an offer of additional resources," Sandoval spokesman Tom Sargent said Wednesday. "They're a three-person operation, and if something gets very involved their resources are taxed."

"This is not empire-building, merely an offer of assistance," Sargent added. "If they have objections, he's not going to force the issue at all."

Ethics Commission Chairman Todd Russell said the panel's $720,000, two-year spending plan in Gov. Kenny Guinn's budget has no money for investigations that might be needed if the commission gets involved in an in-depth study.

Russell also said that due to closure of the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board, the state commission will be forced to handle more ethics questions.

Shifting the commission budget authority from the governor's office to the attorney general's office presents another problem, Russell said.

Because the attorney general's office sometimes defends public officials under review by the commission, the budget arrangement could create an appearance of impropriety, he said.

The commission's concerns seemed to fall on sympathetic ears during an Assembly Ways and Means Committee hearing.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said she agreed a possible conflict existed by moving the commission under the attorney general's budget, adding lawmakers would consider another, more appropriate place for the commission.

The commission is charged with providing ethical guidance for elected officials, which includes investigating complaints against candidates during campaigns and writing advisory opinions at the request of elected officials.

Late last year, the Las Vegas City Council voted unanimously to abolish the city's ethics panel and left all ethics investigations to the state.

Because of the city's action, Ethics Commission executive director Stacy Jennings said she expects 43 additional review applications between fiscal 2003 and fiscal 2004. But no additional funding has been included in the commission's budget.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said because three-quarters of the commission's cases involve local government officials, the state should consider shifting some of the financial burden to the local governments.