NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- More than 50 people have been nominated to fill nine vacant positions on the state Ethics Board.

A panel of independent college presidents met in New Orleans Tuesday to formally nominate the candidates for the nine empty slots on the eleven-member board. The governor and the Legislature are expected to get the list next week and will have 60 days to choose replacements from among those nominees.

Nine Ethics Board members resigned in late June amid complaints that a new law, which took effect Friday, reduces the board's responsibilities. The board will continue to conduct investigations in ethics cases. But the power to decide whether a violation has occurred moves to administrative law judges selected by an appointee of the governor.

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