Clerks to discuss campaign and ethics rules

Nevada's increasingly complex campaign disclosure and ethics laws will be the topic of a March 20-21 workshop for local officials.

The session will be held at the Legislative Building and will include the 17 county clerks and their counterparts from the state's 18 cities, as well as representatives of the state's Elections Division and Ethics Commission .

Elections Division chief Pam Crowell said the idea is to make sure everyone is following the same procedures when prospective candidates file for office. She said the clerks and elections division have met every election year for some time to discuss those issues, but this is the first time the Ethics Commission has joined them.

Ethics Commission Director Ken Rohrs said a number of fines for not filing disclosure reports were forgiven this month because the commission couldn't prove the candidate was told about the requirements.

e said he wants to hear from clerks and discuss the rules and procedures for making sure public officials receive and understand those requirements. In the future, Rohrs said, he wants to be able to prove every candidate and appointee gets that information.

In addition to the ethics disclosure forms, candidates sign acknowledgments when they file that they understand and will comply with laws on contributions and expenses, disposal of unspent contributions and reporting of those financial transactions. They also sign the Code of Fair Campaign Practices, a declaration of residency if appropriate for their office and the filing papers for the office they are seeking.

Crowell said the requirements are designed to make sure the public has access to information about their public officials and their finances.