Committee confirms Steven W. Fogelman to Board of Ethics; staff reports near-universal disclosure compliance

The Legislative Investigations Committee confirmed Steven W. Fogelman to the Board of Ethics after a brief hearing at which he summarized oversight activity and compliance metrics. Fogelman, who has served on the ethics board and as its chair, told the committee the board has seen strong administrative support from Office of Inspector General staff and city agencies. He said 3,396 employees and board members had filed required 2025 financial-disclosure reports, leaving 19 required filers outstanding; staff are sending fine notices. Fogelman reported 1,207 help-desk requests related to disclosure filings in fiscal year 2025, 661 employees attending ethics training that year, and 173 registered lobbyists for whom lobby reports are collected. Committee members asked whether the board could handle situations in which the inspector general, who provides executive-director support, might be the subject of an ethics inquiry. Fogelman said the board maintains a firewall: public sessions are held publicly and administrative sessions about complaints or waivers include only board members; he described limited IG participation in the board's meetings and said the board would act independently in a hypothetical case involving the IG. The committee voted to confirm Fogelman; members recorded the confirmation as unanimous in committee. Ending: Fogelman said this appointment may be his last public-service post if confirmed to the standard five-year term and thanked staff and agency partners for improving compliance.