Black Caucus update
Back in September, Rep. Alma Adams told me that more information on the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation would be forthcoming in October.
Well, October came and went without much of anything coming forth, so it was time to check in with Adams again this morning.
"They got a little bit behind on our audit so I don't have all the information I want yet," Adams said. The "they" in this case is a private auditing firm hired by the caucus. "My expectation is I'll have something to say before the month is out."
You'll remember that questions about the caucus foundation came up because it is tied to the Legislative Black Caucus, a group of influential legislators at the General Assembly. While legislators have certain fundraising restrictions, such as not being able to accept contributions from lobbyists during the session, the caucus foundation has none.
Further questions came up when the foundation acknowledged that some of its scholarships had gone to relatives of caucus foundation members.
Adams said she expected to be able to satisfy everyone's answers once the foundation's own audit was complete. This is something being watched closely by us scruffy media types, so expect wide reportage when she does have something to say.
For those who are interested:
- *Click here for background on the caucus.
- *Click here for the group's 2006 IRS 990 form, which I don't think was available this summer.
- * The N.C. Ethics Commission was asked for an opinion on the caucus' activities. As for making a version of that opinion public, they have not. Of course, they haven't made any opinion public yet, so this is not a unique case.