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Texas Ethics Commission Considers Taking Over Travis Co. Public Integrity Unit


AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Ethics Commission could take over ethics enforcement of public officials from the Travis County district attorney's office.

The commission meets Thursday in Austin.

The Austin American-Statesman (http://bit.ly/Y838fa ) reports the panel is expected to consider a recommendation moving some investigative and prosecution authority and budget from the county public integrity unit.

A Texas Sunset Advisory Commission report last summer criticized the eight-member ethics panel for its lax enforcement. The review stopped short of recommending that the commission become a beefed-up enforcement agency for state ethics laws.

District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg says she has not been contacted about the proposal, opposes it and questions whether a transfer of ethics duties would be legal.

The Texas Ethics Commission was created in 1991 by a state constitutional amendment.