The financial disclosures Virginia officials make each year are filed away in the cabinets of state and local bodies across the commonwealth, most without any screening for compliance with the law.
Some officials miss the Jan. 15 deadline. Some do not file at all.
The requirement is not optional – it is a condition of holding office for judges, sheriffs, treasurers, local government and school board representatives. But many of these officials last year filed disclosures that were incomplete, late, and on forms that have been obsolete for years.
The State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act was created to bolster trust in government by establishing a uniform standard for disclosure throughout the commonwealth. But this standard is not applied uniformly; it varies among the local and state bodies that collect and house disclosure statements.
The errors and omissions found by the Bristol Herald Courier point collectively to a system lacking oversight mechanisms to ensure that officials comply with the law. At both the local and state levels, there are significant communication gaps between the custodians of disclosure forms and the prosecutors charged with enforcing compliance.
The newspaper’s four-month investigation revealed that:
* In Southwest Virginia, 80 officials, including judges, constitutional officers and entire local bodies, filed obsolete forms.
* Seven judges and substitute judges did not file statements until the Herald Courier requested them, months after the 2009 deadline. Two late filers did not submit a statement at all in 2008.
* Elected officials and constitutional officers in one county completed a state education course on how to comply with the act, but still submitted obsolete and extraneous forms while committing many errors.
* Though state law requires commonwealth’s attorneys to draft written procedures for implementing disclosure provisions, no regional prosecutor had done so. Many were unaware of the requirement.
The lack of oversight for local and state officials surprised state lawmakers, who are held to a higher disclosure standard by a different – though similar – code section.
“If [filing disclosure statements] is a statutory requirement, then someone ought to be overseeing that,” said state Sen. Philip Puckett, D-Lebanon. “If we don’t do that, why do we even have it on the books?”
Four legislators, from both political parties, including Puckett, said the process could be improved by adding oversight provisions, which could require amending the law.
Here’s what three state lawmakers had to say about the need for oversight.
* Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol: “The idea is to have public disclosure. If our effort lacks there, we need to revise that as best we can.”
* Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City: “If no one is examining these conflict of interest statements, it looks like the code is going to have to be amended.”
* Delegate Dan Bowling, D-Tazewell: “I think some of us would be willing to put some legislation in. ... It’s probably worth looking at.”
dgilbert@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2558
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