Bill would require ethics and financial training for boards reviewed by Sunset Committee

Senator Kelly presented SB 104, which would require members of any agency or board that comes before the Sunset Committee to complete a five‑hour curriculum within 150 days of appointment. He said the course would be administered by the Department of Public Accounts and developed in consultation with the attorney general.

A former board member told the committee that lacking training led to inadvertent misuse of funds during his service on a soil and water conservation committee, and he urged favorable action. "Once we took that and put it in the bank, it became taxpayer money," he said, recounting that lack of ethics and financial training produced compliance problems when audits occurred.

Committee members expressed support and moved the bill favorably without objections recorded in the excerpt. Sponsors and supporters framed the measure as basic training and ethics to reduce unintentional mismanagement of taxpayer funds.