‘A record number of cases’: Nevada commission collects $24K in ethics penalties

The Nevada Commission on Ethics resolved a record number of ethics cases this year, collecting nearly $24,000 in penalties, according to its annual report released Wednesday.

The commission — an independent public body that enforces Nevada’s ethics law and investigates alleged misconduct of public officers and employees — resolved 120 complaint cases between July 2022 and June 2023.

It also trained more than 1,400 employees and officers in the ethics law, about 1,000 more individuals than the previous fiscal year.

“We resolved a record number of complaint cases and trained a record number of public officials in 2023,” Executive Director Ross Armstrong said in a statement Wednesday. “These efforts to increase the productivity and effectiveness of the Commission’s team will continue into 2024.”

The majority of the cases the commission issued advisory opinions on related to disclosures and abstention. Another popular topic included the cooling off period for people leaving public service.

Roughly 74 percent of the complaint cases were dismissed or withdrawn, according to the report. The others were either resolved with a letter of instruction or caution, through a stipulated agreement or were deferred.

Members of the commission will also consider supporting legislation during the next legislative session including a narrower-focused bill and more aggressive work assisting the Legislature with their own bill regarding ethics jurisdiction.

The commission also got approval for a modernization plan for education and outreach that includes a new online training system and training videos as well as adding a public information officer to the ethics team.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.