6.651 Establishment of Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission -- Membership -- Terms. (1) The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission is established as an independent authority and shall be an agency of the legislative department of state government. (2) The commission shall be composed of nine (9) members, not less than three (3) of whom shall be members of the largest minority party in the state. The members shall be appointed in the following manner: four (4) members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, four (4) members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House, and one (1) member shall be appointed by the Legislative Research Commission. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible for appointment to the commission. (3) The members of the commission shall be appointed within sixty (60) days of February 18, 1993. The Speaker of the House shall appoint one (1) member for an initial term of one (1) year, one (1) for a term of two (2) years, one (1) for a term of three (3) years, and one (1) for a term of four (4) years; the President of the Senate shall appoint one (1) member for a term of two (2) years, one (1) member for an initial term of three (3) years, and two (2) members for a term of four (4) years. The Legislative Research Commission shall appoint one (1) member for an initial term of three (3) years. Thereafter all appointments shall be for a full four (4) years. (4) Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the original appointing authority in the same manner as the original appointments. (5) Each member shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of this Commonwealth. A member of the commission shall not be a public servant, other than in his capacity as a member of the commission or in his capacity as a special judge; a candidate for any public office; a legislative agent; an employer of a legislative agent; or a spouse or child of any of these individuals while serving as a member of the commission. In the two (2) years immediately preceding the date of his appointment, a member shall not have served as a fundraiser, as defined in KRS 121.170(2), for a candidate for Governor or the General Assembly. (6) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, a member of the commission shall serve a term of four (4) years and may be reappointed. (7) While serving on the commission, a member shall not: (a) Serve as a fundraiser for a slate of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, or candidate for Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, or the General Assembly; (b) Contribute to a slate of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, or candidate for Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, or the General Assembly; (c) Serve as an officer in a political party; or (d) Participate in the management or conduct of the political campaign of a candidate. (8) A member shall be removed only by the Legislative Research Commission, and only for cause. Effective: July 15, 1996 History: Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1996. -- Created 1993 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 4, sec. 37, effective September 16, 1993.