808 - Boards of ethics.
§ 808. Boards of ethics. 1. The governing body of any county may establish a county board of ethics and appropriate moneys for maintenance and personal services in connection therewith. The members of such board of ethics shall be appointed by such governing body except in the case of a county operating under an optional or alternative form of county government or county charter, in which case the members shall be appointed by the county executive or county manager, as the case may be, subject to confirmation by such governing body. Such board of ethics shall consist of at least three members, a majority of whom shall not be officers or employees of such county or municipalities wholly or partially located in such county and at least one of whom shall be an elected or appointed officer or employee of the county or a municipality located within such county. The members of such board shall receive no salary or compensation for their services as members of such board and shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. 2. The board shall render advisory opinions to officers and employees of municipalities wholly or partly within the county with respect to this article and any code of ethics adopted pursuant hereto. Such advisory opinions shall be rendered pursuant to the written request of any such officer or employee under such rules and regulations as the board may prescribe and shall have the advice of counsel employed by the board, or if none, the county attorney. In addition, it may make recommendations with respect to the drafting and adoption of a code of ethics or amendments thereto upon the request of the governing body of any municipality in the county. 3. The governing body of any municipality other than a county may establish a local board of ethics and, where such governing body is so authorized, appropriate moneys for maintenance and personal services in connection therewith. A local board shall have all the powers and duties of and shall be governed by the same conditions as a county board of ethics, except that it shall act only with respect to officers and employees of the municipality that has established such board or of its agencies. The members of a local board shall be appointed by such person or body as may be designated by the governing body of the municipality to serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and such board shall consist of at least three members, a majority of whom are not otherwise officers or employees of such municipality. Such board shall include at least one member who is an elected or appointed municipal officer or employee. 4. The county board of ethics shall not act with respect to the officers and employees of any municipality located within such county or agency thereof, where such municipality has established its own board of ethics, except that the local board may at its option refer matters to the county board. 5. A board of ethics of a political subdivision (as defined in section eight hundred ten of this article) and of any other municipality, which is required by local law, ordinance or resolution to be, or which pursuant to legal authority, in practice is, the repository for completed annual statements of financial disclosure shall notify the temporary state commission on local government ethics if such commission be in existence and if not, shall file a statement with the clerk of its municipality, that it is the authorized repository for completed annual statements of financial disclosure and that on account thereof, such completed statements will be filed with it and not with the commission. Should any local law, ordinance or resolution be adopted which provides for the filing of such completed annual statements with the temporary state commission on local government ethics instead of with such boardof ethics, such board of ethics shall notify the temporary state commission on local government ethics of that fact.