Here’s a quick look at some of what’s happening in ethics around the country.

“New ethics site offers resources for journalists,” Poynter.org.

Finding your way ethically in an age of unverified tweets and anonymous comments can be a treacherous journey for reporters and editors, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one: Help is available with the launch of Poynter’s ethics site, Truth and Trust in Media.

The new site offers reporters and editors a place to track developments in media ethics and get guidance from journalism-ethics experts, and invites both readers and journalists to be part of an evolving discussion about ethical decision-making.

South Caroline Governor pushing ethics reform (Charleston City Paper)

While Gov. Haley’s reform bill is far from perfect, it would create independent oversight of state ethics laws by a beefed-up Ethics Commission. Legislators would lose their privileged position and be subject to investigation and discipline by the Ethics Commission.

Conflict-of-interest legislation would be strengthened, including rules requiring full disclosure of all public and private sources of income by elected officials. The proposed legislation would clarify the process of candidate filings, limit the way campaign funds can be used, and abolish leadership PACs, those political slush funds that politicians like House Speaker Bobby Harrell use to finance the campaigns of their friends and allies.

Finally, state ethics reform would not be complete without opening the doors and cleaning the windows at the Statehouse to let the sunshine in. This would include removing the General Assembly’s exemption from the Freedom of Information Act and reducing of the time and cost to citizens by using the Administrative Law Court to create an easier mechanism for citizens to address complaints.

Haley’s proposed ethics bill is not perfect. For one thing, it does little to address the dark money pouring into South Carolina political campaigns. But as flawed as this bill is, it was apparently too much for our lawmakers, who pushed it to the end of the last year’s legislative session, then let it die as the clock ran out.

“New ethics code for Pennsylvania judges covers nepotism, other conflicts,” TribLive.com

Although officials said the rules were not driven by specific controversies, they were released less than two weeks after a year in which former Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was sentenced to house arrest, as was her sister and former secretary, Janine Orie. They were convicted of using state-paid staff to run Melvin’s campaigns for office in 2003 and 2009.

The FBI initiated a probe into Justice Seamus McCaffery for referral fees that his wife, who is his top judicial aide, got for referring clients to law firms.

In Allegheny County, several judges have family members working for them, including Common Pleas Judges Donna Jo McDaniel, Terrence O’Brien, Paul Lutty Jr., Donald Machen, Dwayne Woodruff and John McVay Jr.

Heinz said the Judicial Conduct Board would have to determine whether such employees would be grandfathered in if a complaint is filed once the rules go into effect.

Arkansas LG resigns after ethics, campaign spending violations (Politico.com)

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr said Friday he would leave office Feb. 1, giving in to pressure from Democrats and fellow Republicans who said his impeachment was inevitable over ethics violations tied to his campaign and office spending

The state Ethics Commission last month had fined Darr, a Republican, for 11 separate violations, including making personal use of more than $30,000 of his campaign funds. The Office of Legislative Audit said Darr improperly spent $3,500 on his state credit card and improperly filed for an equal amount in travel reimbursements.

Darr signed a letter Dec. 30 in which he agreed to pay the $11,000 Ethics Commission fine, and he has pledged to reimburse the state for findings in the legislative audit. Darr insisted the violations were unintentional and had vowed to stay in office.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/mark-darr-resigning-arkansas-102052.html#ixzz2qxi8LPeB

“Ethics board calls for clearer rules on gifts to lawmakers,” Seattle Times.

A state ethics panel is calling for clearer rules about how often lobbyists can take lawmakers out for free meals.

Writing in response to a recent complaint about meals received by five state senators, the Legislative Ethics Board said this week that unless rules are clarified, it would be “unfair” to punish any lawmaker for getting free meals.

Currently, the ethics law allows officials to accept gifts of food or drinks on “infrequent occasions.”

The board said that if the Legislature doesn’t move next year to clarify what that means, it will do so on its own.

“The absence of any standard or guidance has created a situation where legislators do not know at what point their actions may constitute a violation,” according to the board’s opinion, issued Wednesday, which noted “serious concerns about the allegations raised in this complaint.”

Did cocaine arrest violate Congressional ethics code? NBC Politics.

The House Ethics Committee has voted to establish an Investigative Subcommittee to determine whether Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., violated Congressional rules when he was arrested in October for possession of cocaine.

“Pursuant to the Committee’s action, the Investigate Subcommittee shall have jurisdiction to determine whether Representative Henry J. “Trey” Radel III violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to conduct forming the basis for criminal charges of possession of cocaine in the District of Columbia, to which Representative Radel pled guilty on November 20, 2013,” a statement from the committee reads.

Ethics complaint against SC House Speaker sent to grand jury, Augusta Chronicle.

The complaint from the South Carolina Policy Council alleges that Harrell boosted his finances by using influence to get a permit for his pharmaceutical business. Council President Ashley Landess also took issue with Harrell appointing his brother to a committee that screens judicial candidates.

Other allegations stem from a 2012 Post and Courier report that raised accusations Harrell couldn’t account for money withdrawn from his campaign and had used his campaign account for personal expenses.

“(Virginia) Lawmakers Announce Bipartisan Ethics Reform Agreement,” NBC29.com.

Now, just in time for the 2014 General Assembly session, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Delegates think they have made a good first step toward tightening up those rules.

House leaders have spent the past few months hammering out a bipartisan ethics reform proposal, focused on a few key areas. The plan includes a $250 cap on “tangible” gifts from lobbyists and individuals with business before the state. It also requires more detailed reporting for “intangible” gifts, like food and travel.

Addressing concerns from the McDonnell scandal, the plan requires spouses and immediate family members report gifts. It would also require ethics and disclosure training for elected officials, and create a State Ethics Advisory Commission to address ongoing, related issues.