House leaders reappointed the Office of Congressional Ethics’ eight-member board Wednesday night, allowing the quasi-independent office to approve new investigations at its scheduled meeting Friday.

The House had recently renewed the OCE, which reviews potential ethics violations and refers investigations to the House Ethics Committee, as part of the internal rules of the House.

Although each of the OCE’s current board members is assigned to a four-year term that does not end until 2013, the House must nonetheless reappoint the board at the start of each Congress, just as it reorganizes its own panels.

Under the new Republican majority, former Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) will assume the chairmanship of the OCE, while former Rep. David Skaggs (D-Colo.) will become the co-chairman. Skaggs served as chairman and Goss as co-chairman under the Democratic majority.

The OCE’s board also includes former Reps. Yvonne Burke (D-Calif.), Karan English (D-Ariz.), Abner Mikva (D-Ill.) and Bill Frenzel (R-Minn.); former House Chief Administrative Officer Jay Eagen; and former Federal Election Commission aide Allison Hayward.