State integrity news for West Virginia, from NBC News9:

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that he will be taking a new, more aggressive approach to the investigation of public corruption in West Virginia and he is encouraging citizens to join the fight.

Officials from the State Police, the F.B.I., and the I.R.S. stood with Ihlenfeld as he announced a major push by his office to identify, investigate, and prosecute matters of public corruption occurring throughout the state.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News9.

State integrity news for West Virginia, from the Charleston Gazette:

The state Ethics Commission refused Thursday to sign off on West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson's plan to take a job as chief lawyer for the West Virginia Education Association, a group that routinely lobbies the Legislature.Thompson wanted to work for the WVEA, while continuing to serve as House speaker.

Commission members concluded that Thompson would have an "inescapable conflict of interest."

Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Gazzette.

State integrity news for West Virginia, from the Charleston Daily Mail:

West Virginians are used to seeing their state listed near the bottom on every list of good attributes. But thanks to state officials, including state Auditor Glen Gainer, West Virginia recently made a move from the bottom to the top in one year's time. The liberal U.S. Public Interest Research Group assessed the 50 states on their efforts to put reports of state consumption of public money online.

"It's just a great story for West Virginia in how a small state can move to the top of the rankings," said Ryan Pierannunzi, tax and budget associate for U.S. PIRG and a co-author of the report.

Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Daily Mail.

Corruption news for West Virginia, from the Charleston Gazette:

State lawmakers are debating a bill that would create an independent fiscal office to provide more accurate cost estimates for proposed law and policy changes.West Virginia agencies draft fiscal notes that lawmakers rely on to determine whether the state can afford a new program or policy change.

But Sen. Herb Snyder says agencies can use the fiscal notes to influence policy by downplaying costs for programs they support or over-estimating the price tag if the agency disagrees with a proposal.

Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Gazette.

Corruption news for West Virginia, from the State Journal:

Legislators have until Jan. 17 to come up with a new congressional redistricting plan after a three-judge panel ruled the current plan unconstitutional in a Jan. 3 decision.

West Virginia was assigned three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on the 2010 census. In a unanimous vote Nov. 3, the Jefferson County Commission decided to seek legal remedy against the congressional redistricting plan that places the Eastern Panhandle in a long district that stretches to the Ohio River.

Read the rest of the story at the State Journal.

Corruption news for West Virginia, from the Charleston Daily Mail:

Three federal judges said Wednesday they will soon decide whether lawmakers have justified the slight change made to West Virginia's congressional districts so that it passes state and U.S. constitutional muster.

Senate Majority Leader John Unger, D-Berkeley, and Sen. Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, testified that lawmakers passed the August legislation instead of alternatives that came much closer to providing equal districts. They also said the final bill lacks any written explanation of its approach.

Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Daily Mail.

Corruption news for West Virginia, from the Sunday Gazette-Mail:

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's (pictured, right) appointment of Art Kirkendollto fill his vacant Senate seat has drawn some discontentment among constituents in the 7th Senatorial District.

One concern is that Kirkendoll, who did not seek re-election last year after 30 years of service as a Logan County commissioner, is in a position to triple-dip: His Senate salary ($20,000 base, plus at least 30 additional days of per-diems at $150 a day for $4,500, plus $131 a day in expenses), his county pension through the CPRB (about $21,400 a year), and his work as a paid consultant to the county commission (reportedly, at $4,000 per month.) Coincidentally, Kirkendoll is one of the first public officials to file the new expanded disclosure form under ethics legislation passed in the 2011 regular session.

Read the rest of the story at the Sunday Gazette-Mail.

Corruption news for West Virginia, from the Charleston Daily Mail:

Legislative auditors are looking at contracts the Manchin and Tomblin administrations had with a former state official who advised them on personnel laws. The consultant, Joe Smith, is the former acting personnel director for several governors.

Smith retired from state government in 2001, but in 2005 Gov. Joe Manchin's (pictured, right) administration asked for his help. The administration used a no-bid contract to hire Smith to consult on personnel issues. Smith received at least $66,000 a year from the deal.

Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Daily Mail.