High court eyes ethics rules in suburban Philly

A suburban Philadelphia county’s ordinance that bars certain high-level public employees from a range of partisan political activities is being reviewed by the state Supreme Court, the AP reports.

The high court heard oral arguments today in the case that pits the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, which passed the rules, against the independently elected sheriff and district attorney.

A county judge and Commonwealth Court have already sided against the ethics ordinance, which prevents the class of employees from political fundraising, running for any office except school board, or managing a political campaign.

The dispute involves how much power, if any, the state Ethics Act gives the commissioners to exercise limited supervisory authority over row office employees.