Agency Header

 Ethics Commission

​
The West Virginia Ethics Commission was established in 1989 to enforce and administer the West Virginia Governmental Ethics Act, which is a code of conduct for appointed and elected public officials and employees. The Act is set forth at W. Va. Code §§ 6B-1-1 through 6B-3-11​.

The Ethics Commission is an independent, nonpartisan commission consisting of nine citizen members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the West Virginia Senate, see Current Commission Me​mbers 
​​
Commission meetings are normally held at 10:00 a.m. on the first Thursday of each month.  Commission meetings are open to the public. All meetings are typically held in the Third Floor Conference Room at 210 Brooks Street in Charleston.  ​M​eetings are held in person, telephonically, and b​y video link.  The call-in numbers and links are posted on the agenda for the month and on the homepage of the Commission's website on the Friday before the meeting, see Meetings and Agendas.  Its Committees meet on an as-needed basis.  

The Commission is supported by a staff of five full-time employees.  To view the Commission's organizational chart, click here​​.​ ​​
​​
The Ethics Commission interprets and enforces the Ethics Act through an investigation and complaint process, see Complain​ts.​  The Commission’s staff also answers oral and written questions from governing bodies and the public concerning the Ethics Act, see Advisory Opinions.
​
The Ethics Commission’s Committee on Open Governmental Meetings issues advisory opinions interpreting the Open Governmental Meetings Act, but neither the Committee nor the Commission have jurisdiction to enforce the Open Meetings Act, see Open Meetings Advisory Opinions.  The Open Meetings Act is set forth at W. Va. Code §§ 6-9A-1 through 6-9A-12.​

The Commission’s Administrative Law Judge Committee issues advisory opinions relating to the ALJ Code of Conduct, see ALJ Opinions, and adjudicates complaints filed against Administrative Law Judges, see ALJ Code of Conduct.

The Ethics Commission also administers the registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists, see Lobbyists, and collects the following disclosure statements:  Financial Disclosure Statements,​ which certain public servants are required to file annually, and Disclosures of "Interested Parties" to Contracts. 

​To view the privacy notice utilized by the Ethics Commission, follow this link:  ​https://www.wv.gov/policies/pages/privacy.aspx

​

 
 






​


​