NASHVILLE – Gov. Phil Bredesen on Monday signed an executive order formally impaneling a 12-member advisory board charged with examining ethics laws in state government.

The group, slated to hold its first meeting on July 22, will conduct a comprehensive review of current state laws concerning ethics and recommend any revisions necessary to ensure elected officials always serve with the best interests of the people they represent in mind.

“I’m confident this group will take a hard look at the laws already on the books and offer useful suggestions as we work to make sure what happened at the conclusion of the legislative session doesn’t happen again,” Bredesen said. “As Governor, I’m committed to doing everything in my power to restore Tennesseans’ trust in their state government. This panel gives us a running start in that effort.”

Formalizing the ethics advisory panel is the first step in a broader effort by Bredesen to seek input on the ethics issue from citizens across the state, it was stated.

“I look forward in the coming months to many conversations on this important topic with those who are directly impacted by everything we do in state government, the people of Tennessee,” he said.

Bredesen has said previously he is considering calling the Legislature back to Nashville this fall for a special session focused exclusively on the ethics issue, with the advisory panel’s recommendations serving as a foundation for discussion and debate.

The governor previously announced 11 of the 12 members of the panel, which will be co-chaired by former state Sen. Ben Atchley and former Tennessee Attorney General W.J. Michael Cody.

The 12th member, announced today by Bredesen, is Cathy Bender-Jackson, vice president of Merrill Lynch in Nashville. Ms. Bender-Jackson is on the executive committee of Renewal House, the board of directors of the Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce and serves as the Secretary of the Metro Nashville Sports Authority.

Meanwhile, state Republican Party Chairman Bob Davis said, "As the Bredesen panel looks at ways to improve the state’s ethics laws, the Tennessee Republican Party hopes it will take a look at the governor’s own ethical issues.

"Sexual harassment and document shredding in Gov. Bredesen’s office are serious matters. It is our hope the ethics panel will look at these and other questionable practices in the Bredesen Administration and make the proper assessment as how best to deal with them."