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Lottery Commission Finds Existing Ethics Rules Don't Cover All

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Members of North Carolina's new lottery commission want to be sure they maintain their ethics, but the rules they need to abide by are not clear.

Governors dating back to 1977 have issued executive orders that set out rules for most members of boards and commissions. But there are gaps in the guidelines, in part because no statewide ethics law exists.

There are also no rules to govern those who lobby commissioners.

All nine lottery commission members are required to follow an executive order from Gov. Mike Easley which bars appointments to boards and commissions from using their position for financial gain or receiving anything of value in exchange for influencing a decision.

Commission Chairman Charles Sanders plans to draft a separate ethics code to discourage commission members from meeting individually with lobbyists. But a newly adopted state law does not require lobbyists to register if they are only attempting to influence a state commission.

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