Del. Phil Hamilton (STEVE HELBER, Associated Press / February 25, 2004)
Adam Rhew of NBC29 broke the story a couple of days ago of the ethics panel meeting in Richmond regarding Del. Phil Hamilton. Today’s Virginian-Pilot reports that the panel has interviewed three people from Old Dominion University: President John Broderick, Dean William Graves and administrator David Blackburn.
Others interviewed in connection with the ethics inquiry include officials with the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees, through which state spending proposals travel. Those interviews were conducted about a month ago. Staff from both committees also provided the panel with documents related to Hamilton’s 2007 budget amendment for the ODU teaching center.
The meetings of the ethics panel are confidential unless the subject of the inquiry – Del. Hamilton – permits them to be public. So far, that has not happened. According to the Pilot, should the panel find that Hamilton willingly violated the law, the case would be turned over to the Attorney General’s office, at which time the panel’s report would become public.
I don’t like secret meetings. The General Assembly needs to take up ethics reform and bring these meetings out in the open.
A step towards ethics reform would be electing Robin Abbott.
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