Roger Brown has more on the controversy surrounding the Tennessee Ethics Commission.

The commission’s birth had filled a need, following years of public outrage after several state lawmakers, who were accused of selling votes for bribes, were arrested in an FBI undercover sting operation known as “Operation Tennessee Waltz.”

State Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, one of the major lawmakers responsible for creating the Ethics Commission in 2006, said the agency did help clean up state politics after the “Tennessee Waltz” mess.

“It was the single most important thing we did in response to that (scandal),” Herron said of creating the Ethics Commission. “The fact it’s been eliminated as an independent body causes me great concern – and it should everyone in Tennessee.”