Va. Conflict of Interest & Ethics Advisory Council; annual audit of certain disclosure forms.

Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics AdvisoryCouncil; staffing; annual audit of certain disclosure forms; lobbyistregistration and reporting; civil penalties. Provides for anannual audit of the Statement of Economic Interests disclosure formsfiled by members of the General Assembly to ensure the completenessand material accuracy of the information disclosed. The bill directsthe Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council toappoint and employ an executive director; currently, the Divisionof Legislative Services employs the executive director and providesadditional staff assistance. Additional staff required pursuant tothe bill includes at least one experienced lawyer and at least oneexperienced auditor or investigator. The bill also increases thecivil penalty for certain violations related to filing such disclosureforms and prohibits any such penalty from being paid using fundscontributed to or received by a candidate or his campaign committeeor by any political committee. Lastly, the bill brings the reportingperiod and deadline for lobbyists' disclosures into alignment withthe schedule for filing disclosures required pursuant to the Stateand Local Government Conflict of Interests Act and the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act.