NYC Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB)

 NYC Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB)

"The main purpose of ethics laws lies not in punishing wrongdoing, but in preventing it, not in catching people, but in teaching them.

The Conflicts of Interest Board is the independent New York City agency tasked with administering, enforcing and interpreting Chapter 68 of the New York City Charter, the City's Conflicts of Interest Law, and Section 12-110 of the Administrative Code, the City's Annual Disclosure Law. We hope you'll enjoy learning more about this agency, and government ethics in general, by exploring the tabs on the left and the other offerings on our site.

Through a combination of engaging training, confidential advice, and vigorous enforcement, the Board seeks to prevent ethics questions from becoming ethics problems for public servants. Ultimately, however, integrity in City government rests upon all of us, public servant and private citizen alike. Only when each of us plays his or her part will the public trust inherent in public service be ensured."

Wanna be in government? Pass an ethics course; Dominican Today, April 29, 2021

Dominican Today; Wanna be in government? Pass an ethics course

"President Luis Abinader announced Thursday that, from now on, for a citizen to be in government or to remain on it, it will be a requirement to have completed the Basic Course on Ethics for Public Servants.

In a joint resolution between the Public Administration Ministry (MAP) and the General Directorate of Government Ethics and Integrity (Digeig) they indicate that the training will be essential to access, remain and develop in public positions."

Pruitt is gone. Congress still doesn’t care about ethics.; The Washington Post, July 6, 2018

Walter M. Shaub Jr., The Washington Post; Pruitt is gone. Congress still doesn’t care about ethics.

"The damage to the executive branch ethics program is profound. A bad ethical tone from the top, which began with Trump’s refusal to divest his conflicting financial interests, continues to erode that program. Trump’s commendation of the departing Pruitt is as strong a statement as a leader can send to devalue the importance of ethics in government.

The foundational principle that public service is a public trust is now on the ropes. Those in Congress who share responsibility for Pruitt’s ethical failures will find it difficult to avoid looking hypocritical if they demand ethical conduct from appointees in this administration or the next. Gowdy is a notable exception, but he is leaving Congress. It is time for his colleagues to step up their oversight of this administration’s ethical failings. The road to redemption may require an acknowledgment of responsibility for failing to oversee the EPA’s administrator and a recommitment to enforcing government ethics. As for the executive branch, Trump can start by curtailing his praise of the current holder of the title “most unethical Cabinet member in modern history.”"

FCC Republican faces ethics complaint after calling for Trump’s re-election; Ars Technica, February 26, 2018

Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica; FCC Republican faces ethics complaint after calling for Trump’s re-election

"Two Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission face accusations that they violated government ethics rules during appearances at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was given the National Rifle Association's Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award at CPAC Friday. Accepting the award is almost certainly a violation of government ethics rules, according to Walter Shaub, who was director of the US Office of Government Ethics from 2013 to 2017. Pai has not publicly responded to the accusation.

Also on Friday, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly called for the re-election of President Donald Trump during his appearance at CPAC. Advocacy group American Oversight called for an investigation of O'Rielly, saying that he violated a rule against "engaging in partisan political activity while on duty.""