21-5-4. State Ethics Commission; membership; officers; quorum; meetings.

The State Ethics Commission shall be a successor to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, with such duties and powers as are set forth in this chapter. As the successor commission, it shall have all the powers and duties granted to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission in all matters pending before the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission and may continue to investigate, prosecute, and act upon all such matters.#

The commission shall be governed by five members appointed as follows: three members, not more than two of whom shall be from the same political party, shall be appointed by the Governor, two for terms of three years and one for a term of two years; one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Assignments for a term of four years; and one member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives for a term of four years. Upon the expiration of a member’s term of office, a new member, appointed in the same manner as the member whose term of office expired as provided in this subsection, shall become a member of the commission and shall serve for a term of four years and until such member’s successor is duly appointed and qualified. If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the commission, a new member shall be appointed to the unexpired term of office by the state official or the committee that appointed the vacating member. Members of the commission shall not serve for more than one complete term of office.#

All members of the commission shall be residents of this state.#

Any person who:#

1. (1)

   Has qualified to run for any federal, state, or local public office within a period of five years prior to such person’s appointment;#

2. (2)

   Has held any federal, state, or local public office within a period of five years prior to such person’s appointment; or#

3. (3)

   Serves as an officer of any political party, whether such office is elective or appointive and whether such office exists on a local, state, or national level#

4. shall be ineligible to serve as a member of the commission.

The commission shall elect a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and other officers as it deems necessary. The members shall not be compensated for their services but they shall be reimbursed in an amount equal to the per diem received by the General Assembly for each day or portion thereof spent in serving as members of the commission. They shall be paid their necessary traveling expenses while engaged in the business of the commission.#

A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of at least a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present is necessary for any action to be taken by the commission. No vacancy in the membership of the commission impairs the right of a quorum to exercise all rights and perform all duties of the commission.#

Meetings of the members of the commission shall be held at the call of the chairperson or whenever any two members so request.#