NORTH
CAROLINA BOARD OF ETHICS
“Public Officials” covered by the Governor’s Executive Order on ethics must perform
their official duties in a manner to promote the best interests of the public. Public
Officials may not knowingly use their position in any manner which will result
in a financial benefit, direct or indirect, to the Public Official, the
Official’s family, or an individual with whom or business, organization, or
group with which the Public Official is associated. See Section 7 of the Order.
The information requested in the
required Statement of Economic Interest
(“SEI”) is intended to assist covered Public Officials and those that appoint,
hire, or evaluate them in identifying situations or relationships which can
either cause or appear to cause a conflict between the Official’s public duties
and his or her private interests. It is intended to determine whether a Public
Official is in a position to impact
his or her financial, familial, or personal interest through public
decision-making or official action. Many situations or relationships will be
identified that constitute a potential
conflict of interest. This is normal and
expected in many cases. It does not
mean that the Official has a disqualifying conflict of interest. It does not mean that the Official is
“unethical.” It does mean that the
Official must be careful not to let the “potential” conflict develop into an
actual conflict. Helping Public Officials recognize and address potential
conflicts of interest is a major goal of the financial disclosure and
evaluation process.
There are two kinds of filers under
the Order: (1) “new” filers/Public
Officials who have never filed a
full and complete Statement of Economic Interest required by the Order, and (2)
currently-serving appointees,
employees, or Public Officials who have already
filed a full and complete SEI under the Order and are updating their
statements for the new filing year. The type of form you use depends on which
type of filer you are.
All new filers (those who have never filed a full and complete SEI
under the current Order) MUST submit
a full and complete SEI (“Long Form”), answering each question, even if the
answer is “none”. All returning filers who have already submitted a full and complete
Long Form for the previous filing year have two main options:
(1) if they do NOT have any material changes to report, they may submit the one-page “No-Change” form (“Short Form”); OR
(2) if they DO have material changes to report,
they may indicate such changes on a “Supplemental
Statement of Economic Interest.” Supplemental filers need only provide
information or responses to questions where there have been changes – they do not have to complete the entire form
again unless they want to. If you
prefer to file a completely new SEI “Long Form” answering each question, please
so indicate on the form, and it will supersede all prior forms.
Public Officials need only file ONE
type of form for the filing year – the forms are mutually exclusive. Whichever
form is used MUST be notarized. If you have any questions about which type of
form you should use, please contact Board of Ethics staff for assistance.
You should carefully read the
current ethics Order in general and Section 7 in particular before completing
the appropriate form. If you have any questions or need any
help in filling out this form, please contact the Board of Ethics at (919)
733-2780.
When the Order asks you to list assets and
liabilities with a value of $10,000 or more for yourself and your spouse, you
are NOT required to include an estimated value of the assets and
liabilities. The intent is not to establish net worth, but rather to identify
relevant assets and liabilities.
NOTE: In answering all questions,
the term “board” or “boards” includes any and all “boards,” “commissions,” “councils,” “committees,” “task forces,” “authorities,” or similar public bodies upon which Public
Officials serve, however denominated, and will be referred to in these disclosure
forms simply as “board” or “boards,” as the context may require.
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