ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline) - Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan says he plans to overhaul the state's ethics rules after problems with the law were brought to light last year.
Sullivan said the problems emerged while then-Gov. Sarah Palin was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee.
The changes sought by the attorney general, who in Alaska is a gubernatorial appointee, would allow the state to reimburse reasonable private attorney fees for public officials who are exonerated in ethics disputes and establish when a governor's family members can travel using state money.
A bevy of ethics complaints were filed against Palin alleging she should not have flown her family around the country on state taxpayers' dime.
Most of the complaints against Palin have been dismissed. The Republican called the complaints frivolous and cited them as one of her reasons for leaving office this year, before her term ended.
The attorney general released the proposed changes Monday for a public review that lasts through Jan. 22. The changes would not require legislative approval.
From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.
