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Subcommittee advances bill to restore state ethics oversight for counties without boards
Summary
Senate Bill 2,257 would return ethics oversight to the state commission when a county lacks a functioning local ethics board; sponsor cited a recent corruption plea in Shelby County as a reason to restore state oversight, and the committee approved a positive recommendation.
Senate Bill 2,257, introduced by Senator Taylor, would require that when a county does not maintain a functioning ethics board (defined in the bill as at least five voting members and a nonvoting ethics officer), oversight reverts to the state ethics commission until the county reconstitutes a local board. Senator Taylor said the bill is intended to restore guidance where local oversight is absent and noted that a recent county commissioner's guilty plea in Shelby County illustrated the local gap.
Senator Sandra Oliver asked whether this would duplicate the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics' existing authority; Senator Taylor said the bill is designed to fill a local vacuum where a county board is not performing. The committee voted 7 ayes and 2 noes to give the bill a positive recommendation and referred it to the State and Local Committee.
