Senator Ralph Hise Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other.

Freshman Senator who introduced a bill directly benefiting his employer, one of the state’s community colleges.

Here’s a bit more information on the situation. The legislator was state Sen. Ralph Hise, a freshman Republican from Spruce Pine who works for Mayland Community College as a planning officer.

In what had previously been a blank bill, Hise inserted language that would sell, for $1, the shuttered Blue Ridge Correctional Facility to the three-campus college that serves the mountain communities of Mitchell, Avery and Yancey counties.

Wow, THE Senatoris trying to ripoff the state for his employer. Now, that is a loyal employee for you. I’m sure that facility is worth more on the open market even in this economy. WE all know its worth more than a damn dollar.

“The basic rule of ethics is that you shouldn’t do anything that benefits you financially,” Pinsky said. “Hise needed to have at least publicly announced that there was a conflict of interest.”