CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Potential conflicts of interest should discourage West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson from becoming the top lawyer for a state teachers' organization.
That's the conclusion of the state Ethics Commission. It plans to advise against the Wayne County Democrat taking the job with the West Virginia Education Association.
The commission's Thursday agenda included a question over whether a high-ranking legislator could provide legal services to a group that actively lobbies for its members. It said that the legal work would be unrelated to the lobbying activities.
The Charleston Gazette identified the legislator as Thompson and the group as the WVEA. The newspaper reports that while commission staff recommended that Thompson could take the job, commissioners concluded that conflicts of interest were inescapable.
A May opinion is expected.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
