Andrew T. Manus is the chair of the Delaware Public Integrity Commission.
Global Ethics Day is today and this year’s theme is “Ethics Empowered.”
Established by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Global Ethics Day is designed to empower ethics through the actions of both individuals and organizations. Beginning in 2014, citizens, businesses, professional organizations and governments from over 75 countries have participated in Global Ethics Day. On a more regional level, Gov. John Carney signed a proclamation acknowledging this important day.
Here in Delaware, the state Public Integrity Commission administers and implements Delaware’s ethics law (Code of Conduct) for the executive branch, its financial disclosure law for all three branches and its lobbyists’ registration and expense-reporting laws. The commission consists of seven members appointed by the governor with the concurrence of the Senate and has one staff member, its legal representative. The commission is able to accomplish its statutory duties with a budget of under $200,000 per year.
Much of the agency’s work involves promoting and enforcing the ethical standards that apply to all state executive branch employees (rank and file), officers (senior level and elected officials) and honorary state officials (appointees to state boards and commissions). The state standards also apply to all local governments (unless they adopt their own Code of Conduct).
One of the commission’s statutory duties is to issue advisory opinions. An advisory opinion is its interpretation of the ethics laws governing the conduct of Delaware’s state, county and municipal employees, officers and appointees.
The opinion provides guidance on whether specific conduct will or will not violate the state Code of Conduct. An advisory opinion may be requested by employees or officials under the commission’s jurisdiction. By law, advisory opinions are kept confidential. On an annual basis, the commission typically hears 50-60 formal requests for advisory opinions. The group’s comprehensive 1,074-page opinion synopses (redacted versions of advisory opinions) are available for public review on our webpage (depic.delaware.gov). Requesting an advisory opinion, in advance of taking action, helps prevent ethics violations.
Members of the public questioning the propriety of the actions of a person under our jurisdiction must do so through a complaint process. A complaint is a formal allegation that one or more ethics laws in the state Code of Conduct are being violated by employees or officials of state or local governments within Delaware. A complaint may be filed by any person, must be in writing and must be notarized. The commission typically processes two-five complaints per year. If the subject of the complaint is not found in violation, by law, the complaint remains confidential. If, however, the individual is found in violation, they are subject to civil, administrative and/or criminal penalties.
Education about the state Code of Conduct, like advisory opinions, is an important aspect of promoting ethical standards. Over the past five years, the commission has provided ethics training to almost 4,000 state, municipal and county government employees. However, that number is far below the actual number of employees working in those roles.
This Global Ethics Day, the Public Integrity Commission is announcing the receipt of one-time technology funding that will provide online ethics training to all state employees and officials over the next three years. This online training initiative will empower state employees and officials by providing the education and training they need to navigate ethical dilemmas while performing their official job duties.
On this day, it is important to reflect upon the responsibility of each of us to support and monitor the integrity and ethics of those who govern us. The commission, on this Global Ethics Day and every day, is dedicated to ensuring that the citizens of Delaware can have trust in their government. Our work helps to establish that those under our jurisdiction act ethically and with integrity.
