New York’s potentially powerful ethics board is turning toward greater transparency and accountability after being criticized for its penchant for closed-door sessions and a loophole for special interests.

The Joint Commission on Public Integrity held perhaps its longest meeting in public on Tuesday. The commissioners decided to publicly reconsider one of its early decisions allowing some lobbying groups to keep their donors secret.

The measure permits a lobbying group to maintain the secrecy if it argues disclosure of its financial backers could face a threat.

But the exception wasn’t clearly defined and good-government advocates said it was ripe for abuse to hide identities of special interests and their financial backers from the public.

Several commission members say they made a mistake approving the provision a year ago.

(AP)