The State Ethics Commission has found the county’s new public ethics law to be below state standards because it allows elected leaders to accept tickets to sporting events from people who do business with the county.

Although state lawmakers are prohibited from free sports tickets, both state and county laws allow lawmakers to accept free admission to charitable, cultural, and political affairs events if the tickets come from the events’ sponsors.

Michael Lord, Executive Director of the commission, notes that the county’s ethics law does not call for disclosure of those tickets, which is required under state rules.

The county has maintained that its ethics laws are among the toughest in the state, but the commission has warned the county that it is not in compliance with a 2010 law that requires local ethics laws to be at least as strong as those state lawmakers must follow.