Legislative leaders have finally agreed on a slate of nominees to fill a long-vacant seat on the state’s ethics commission. Although the position, which must go to someone who is not a member of the two major political parties, appears close to being filled, the stringent requirements that caused this slot to remain empty for more than a year must be eased. This should be one of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Legislative Ethics, which is reviewing the adequacy of the state’s ethics laws.

In 2001, lawmakers changed the appointment process for the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. Previously, the governor had appointed commission members. Under the new law, each party caucus submits a list of three names to the governor who picks an appointee from the lists. No more than two people from the same party can serve on the five-member commission.

However, the requirements are higher for the independent member, who serves as the commission chair. Each caucus must agree on the list of three candidates that is sent to the governor. Only former University of Maine System Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart has cleared this hurdle. He served a one-year term on the commission and then stayed on for another six months awaiting a replacement. He left the commission in April 2005 and the seat has been vacant since then.

Pushed by House Speaker John Richardson, House and Senate Democrats and Republicans recently agreed on a list of three candidates and forwarded it to the Legislature’s only Green, John Eder. He wanted a member of the Green Party included in the three names forwarded to the governor. The other parties obliged and sent a list of three candidates to the governor on Friday. The three are Michael Friedman, an attorney with Rudman & Winchell in Bangor, and Donald Miskill, a retired naval captain from Orrs Island, who are not enrolled in any party; and Philip Worden, an attorney from Seal Cove who is a member of the Green Independent Party.

Once the governor settles on one nominee, confirmation hearings can be scheduled. The fifth member could join the commission in a few weeks.

The importance of having the commission’s full complement of five members has been highlighted several times in recent months. Earlier this week, independent gubernatorial candidate John Michael asked that the commission delay a decision on whether he should receive public financing until the commission’s fifth seat is filled because he wants an independent present so he can get a fair hearing.

Earlier this year, the commission deadlocked over whether to pursue an investigation of Rep. Thomas Saviello. He is the environmental manager at International Paper Co.’s Jay mill and was a member of the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee. He faced allegations that he used his committee assignment to benefit his company. The committee voted 2-2 not to investigate whether such allegations had merit.

The ethics advisory committee, which was created by Speaker Richardson and Senate President Beth Edmonds, should look for ways – perhaps each caucus would submit a list of three names to the governor – to make it easier to fill this important seat. It should also recommend that the ethics commission law be rewritten to allow complaints from third parties and to lift the restriction that only actions in the current legislative session can be investigated.

The panel, which will meet five more times, can do the public and lawmakers a service by recommending fixes to these problems.