Published: August 07, 2008 11:40 am      

Justice Department OKs new ethics law

JACKSON — The U.S. Justice Department has approved a new Mississippi law that will, among other things, require the Ethics Commission to post elected officials’ financial disclosure forms on its Web site.

Justice Department officials informed the state of the preclearance on Tuesday and that’s when the law went into effect.

The new law creates regulations for blind trusts that officials establish to handle their personal finances when they take office. The law says any communication between the public official and the person handling the trust must be in writing, and copies of the communication must be sent to the Ethics Commission.

Gov. Haley Barbour has said he set up a blind trust when he became governor in January 2004.