Monitoring compliance with ethics and disclosure laws — Corrective action letters
Arkansas Code § 7-6-217; Arkansas Code § 7-6-218
- (a) The Arkansas Ethics Commission, through its staff, shall periodically review documents required to be filed under the laws enforced by the commission.
(b)
- (1) Persons who have failed to file, filed late, or filed incomplete, false, or materially misleading documents may be contacted in writing by the commission or its staff and advised to take corrective action.
- (2) The contact and advice may be in lieu of, or in addition to, other action or actions by the commission under Arkansas Code § 7-6-218(b)(4).
(c)
- (1) If the commission or its staff determines from a review of documents or is notified by the Secretary of State, a county clerk, or city clerk or recorder that a person required to file documents under the commission’s jurisdiction has failed to file, filed late, or filed incomplete, false, or materially misleading documents, the commission may contact the person and advise him or her to take corrective action as to the document or documents required to be filed.
- (2) The contact and advice may be in lieu of, or in addition to, other action or actions by the commission under Arkansas Code § 7-6-218(b)(4).
(d)
- (1) Corrective action letters shall be public records.
- (2) However, the sending of a corrective action letter is not tantamount to the finding of a violation by the commission.
- (3) Instead, such letters are a means of seeking public disclosure.
- (4) The taking of corrective action is not an admission of a violation and is a factor to be considered by the commission in determining whether to take other action or actions under Arkansas Code § 7-6-218(b)(4).