Ethics Commission Approves Trust for Thrasher Companies

The West Virginia Ethics Commission has approved a blind trust agreement for Woody Thrasher, president of an engineering and architecture firm chosen by Gov. Jim Justice to be the state’s new commerce secretary. The Gazette-Mail reports that agreement puts the firm and various real estate holdings in the control of two trustees. Thrasher won’t have to include trust assets in annual financial disclosures to the commission. The agreement’s approval exempts the businesses from potential conflicts of interest under the state’s Ethics Act. It limits communications between the trustees and Thrasher, which are required in writing, and are to include quarterly reports of taxable income without details of the businesses’ profits and losses.