HB 261

Abstract

This Act establishes the Office of Legislative Ethics for the General Assembly. The establishment of an Office of Legislative Ethics is necessary to ensure that potential violations of Delaware’s laws or allegations of conflict of interest by the members of the General Assembly are fully investigated. The Board of the Office of Legislative Ethics will be made up of five respected members of the community with expertise in law and legislative ethics who will volunteer to serve. The Office of Legislative Ethics will be headed by an Executive Director who will also serve as the lead investigator. Any member of the public will be able to file a complaint or request the Office of Legislative Ethics to commence an investigation and can do so anonymously. The Act provides for the specific procedures to be followed once the Office of Legislative Ethics receives a complaint or request for investigation. The Act further provides for certain reporting to the General Assembly on a quarterly basis. The Act also adds the Office of Legislative Ethics to Delaware’s whistleblower statute, ensuring that public employees who make a complaint to the Office of Legislative Ethics are afforded the same protections as employees reporting suspected violations to other reporting bodies. Finally, the Act removes the Office of Legislative Ethics and the Office of Legislative Ethics Board from the meaning of “public body” within Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act.