§ 138A-22. Statement of economic interest; filing required. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 138A‑22.  Statement ofeconomic interest; filing required.

(a)        Every coveredperson subject to this Chapter who is elected, appointed, or employed,including one appointed to fill a vacancy in elective office, except for publicservants (i) included under G.S. 138A‑3(30)b., e., f., or g. whose annualcompensation from the State is less than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000), or(ii) who are ex officio student members under Chapters 115D and 116 of theGeneral Statutes, shall file a statement of economic interest with theCommission prior to the covered person's initial appointment, election, oremployment and no later than April 15 of every year thereafter, except asotherwise filed under subsections (c1) and (d) of this section. A prospectivecovered person required to file a statement under this Chapter shall not beappointed, employed, or receive a certificate of election, prior to submissionby the Commission of the Commission's evaluation of the statement in accordancewith this Article. The requirement for an annual filing under this subsectionalso shall apply to covered persons whose terms have expired but who continueto serve until the covered person's replacement is appointed. Once a statementof economic interest is properly completed and filed under this Article, thestatement of economic interest does not need to be supplemented or refiledprior to the next due date set forth in this subsection.

(b)        Notwithstandingsubsection (a) of this section, individuals hired by, and appointees of,constitutional officers of the State may file a statement of economic interestwithin 30 days after their appointments or employment when the appointment oremployment is made during the first 60 days of the constitutional officer'sinitial term in that constitutional office.

(c)        Notwithstandingsubsection (a) of this section, public servants, under G.S. 138A‑3(30)j.and k., who have submitted a statement of economic interest under subsection(a) of this section, may be hired, appointed, or elected provisionally prior tosubmission by the Commission of the Commission's evaluation of the statement inaccordance with this Article, subject to dismissal or removal based on theCommission's evaluation.

(c1)      A public servantreappointed to a board between January 1 and April 15 shall file a currentstatement of economic interest prior to the reappointment.

(d)        A candidate for anoffice subject to this Article shall file the statement of economic interest atthe same place and in the same manner as the notice of candidacy for thatoffice is required to be filed under G.S. 163‑106 or G.S. 163‑323within 10 days of the filing deadline for the office the candidate seeks. Anindividual who is nominated under G.S. 163‑114 after the primary andbefore the general election, and an individual who qualifies under G.S. 163‑122as an unaffiliated candidate in a general election, shall file a statement ofeconomic interest with the county board of elections of each county in thesenatorial or representative district. An individual nominated under G.S. 163‑114shall file the statement within three days following the individual'snomination, or not later than the day preceding the general election, whicheveroccurs first. An individual seeking to qualify as an unaffiliated candidateunder G.S. 163‑122 shall file the statement of economic interest with thepetition filed under that section. An individual seeking to have write‑invotes counted for that individual in a general election shall file a statementof economic interest at the same time the candidate files a declaration ofintent under G.S. 163‑123. A candidate of a new party chosen byconvention shall file a statement of economic interest at the same time thatthe president of the convention certifies the names of its candidates to the StateBoard of Elections under G.S. 163‑98.

(e)        The State Board ofElections shall provide for notification of the statement of economic interestrequirements of this Article to be given to any candidate filing for nominationor election to those offices subject to this Article at the time of the filingof candidacy.

(f)         Within 10 days ofthe filing deadline for office of a covered person, the executive director ofthe State Board of Elections shall send to the State Ethics Commission a listof the names and addresses of each candidate who have filed as a candidate foroffice as a covered person. A county board of election shall forward anystatements of economic interest filed with the board under this section to theState Board of Elections. The executive director of the State Board ofElections shall forward a certified copy of the statements of economic interestto the Commission for evaluation upon its filing with the State Board ofElections under this section.

(g)        The Commissionshall issue forms to be used for the statement of economic interest and shallrevise the forms from time to time as necessary to carry out the purposes ofthis Chapter. Except as otherwise set forth in this section and in G.S. 138A‑15(h),upon notification by the employing entity, the Commission shall furnish to allother covered persons the appropriate forms needed to comply with this Article. (2006‑201,s. 1; 2007‑29, s. 2; 2007‑348, ss. 32, 33; 2008‑213, s. 64;2009‑549, s. 13.)