Black Caucus update
Rep. Alma Adams, a Greensboro Democrat and chair of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, sent out an update regarding steps the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation was taking to address ethical questions.
Background is here, but the short version is this: the caucus is a group of influential legislators. The caucus foundation raises money and spends money on behalf of causes near and dear to those legislators' hearts. Further, the foundation can raise money at times and in amounts in which legislators are themselves prohibited from raising campaign funds. Other questions have involved scholarship money going from the foundation to the relatives of legislators.
Among the steps Adams said the foundation has taken:
- *Added new members to the foundation board. The board now has 21 members, 13 of which are private citizens.
- *Has conducted audits of 2005 and 2006 records and will conduct an annual audit going forward.
- *Hired a professional CPA firm to provide accounting services.
- *Adopted policies that preclude family of board members from receiving scholarships.
- *Obtained an advisory opinion from the N.C. Ethics Commission that says legislators can serve on foundation boards. However, that opinion says legislators cannot make up the majority of a foundation's board.
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