Owensboro attorney appointed to Executive Branch Ethics Commission

Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed local attorney Jeanie Owen Miller to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.

Miller, an attorney in private practice, previously served as a consumer protection specialist with the attorney general’s office from 1976 until 1981. Miller has served as president of the Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, president of the Daviess County Bar Association and as co-chair of the Daviess County Democratic Party.

Along with Miller, who was selected by Beshear from three nominations made by the attorney general’s office, Beshear appointed Rutheford B. Campbell Jr. of Lexington to the commission. Campbell is a law professor at the University of Kentucky.

Beshear’s office notes that the commission’s duties include “administering a program of training and education on the code of ethics, providing guidance to state employees concerning their ethical conduct, enforcing the provisions of the code of ethics, interpreting the code of ethics through the issuance of advisory opinions, registering executive agency lobbyists and recommending legislation to the General Assembly.”

Among other things, the commission is currently investigating former members of Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration relating to a hiring scandal during his term in office.

For more information about the commission, visit its Web site and view recent changes imposed by Beshear’s order here.

State to proceed with ethics investigation of Fletcher administration members

The State Executive Branch Ethics Commission decided Friday to move forward with an investigation into members of the Ernie Fletcher administration despite a sweeping pardon three years ago by the former governor.

The Fletcher administration hiring scandal that led to criminal charges against the governor and members of his staff centered around potential violations of the state’s merit system law, that governs hiring practices and protects employees from personnel changes based on politics.

Check out the Courier-Journal and the Herald-Leader for the story.