Ethics commission seeks two staff additions and new space as litigation draws committee scrutiny

The Governmental Ethics Commission presented its FY 2026–27 budget request, which includes a compliance attorney, a compliance auditor (a compliance desk position) and funding for building relocation and one‑time moving costs. Committee members raised concerns about active litigation that has generated attorney‑fee orders and about the commission’s ability to absorb legal costs.

Why it matters: the Ethics Commission enforces campaign finance, lobbying and conflict‑of‑interest laws. Staffing levels and office space affect the agency’s ability to provide advisory guidance to candidates and officials and to pursue enforcement work without conflicts.

Legislative Research staff summarized the request: the commission sought roughly $1.1 million in all funds for FY 2026, including about $788,000 in State General Fund and 10.5 FTEs. The enhancement package included a compliance attorney (base salary cited at $80,000 plus fringe) and an auditor (base salary cited at $57,000 plus fringe). The commission requested $40,000 annually for building space rental beginning in FY 2026 and a one‑time $10,000 moving expense for FY 2026 tied to the end of its current lease in November 2025.

General Counsel Caitlin Bull Stewart told the committee the compliance attorney would create a firewall between the office’s compliance guidance function and the enforcement attorney so that callers seeking guidance would speak to a different attorney than the one handling enforcement. She said the change would allow advisory opinions and more proactive training and guidance while preserving the office’s conflict rules in enforcement matters: "This allows for the compliance attorney to also guide the commission in drafting advisory opinions, providing more guidance, and focusing on adding significantly more training," she said.

Committee members probed litigation exposure. Representative Turk noted that, based on materials he reviewed, attorney fees and litigation costs involving the commission have been substantial and raised a question about where any final fee orders would be paid from. Counsel said litigation remains active, appeals are pending in some matters, and some cases are being defended by the Attorney General’s Office; the commission has not treated the most recent orders as finalized budget obligations and said appeals remain pending.

A number of legislators said new FTEs are hard to authorize in the current fiscal environment and asked the commission to justify staffing increases. The commission said it is currently fully staffed at 8.5 FTE and that the requested positions would be additive to improve compliance desk throughput, reduce burdens on filers and permit more training and advisory work.

What’s next: The committee will take up the commission’s budget as part of the committee’s budget recommendations (the transcript indicates the commission’s budget will be considered the next day); members requested more detail about litigation exposure and the status of appeals before finalizing recommendations.