JCOPE Holds First Meeting; Adopts Ethical Code of Conduct and Recusal Policy

Last Tuesday, the state’s new ethics and lobbying oversight entity – the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) — held its first meeting in Albany.

The agenda for the public meeting included:

–          Reviewing, in conjunction with the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC), regulations and advisory opinions that are currently in place;

–          Developing new regulations on gifts to public officials, public service announcements, determinations as to who is a policymaker, required disclosures under the Lobbying Act, procedures for random audits of Financial Disclosure Statements, and newly mandated ethics training; and

–          Considering the adoption of a schedule of public meetings for 2012.

Commission Chairwoman Janet DiFiore announced that Commission on Public Integrity Executive Director Barry Ginsberg had resigned his position, and that JCOPE would form a search committee to find a new executive director. (The Times Union reported Ginsberg’s departure on Dec. 16.)

With its public agenda complete, Chairwoman DiFiore moved for the JCOPE to enter into an executive session.  The move to exclude the public and press was not without controversy.  But just as its predecessors were, JCOPE is exempt from the state’s Open Meetings and Freedom of Information laws. Thirteen of the fourteen Commissioners voted in favor of the motion to go into Executive Session.

While in Executive Session, JCOPE adopted a Code of Conduct for its members addressing conflicts of interest and standards and circumstances for recusals, gifts and confidentiality.  The Code of Conduct follows the standards set forth in Public Officers Law §§ 73(3)(b), 73-a and 74, as well as a process for recusal.