January 23, 2019 State Ethics Commission Meeting Minutes - Public Session

PUBLIC SESSION

MEETING CONVENED

Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. Also in attendance were Vice Chair David A. Mills, Commissioner R. Marc Kantrowitz and Commissioner Josefina Martinez. Commissioner Thomas J. Sartory participated remotely

REMOTE PARTICIPATION

Chair Krokidas announced that the Commission previously voted to authorize remote participation on December 16, 2011; that Commissioner Sartory would participate remotely; and that the reason for Commissioner Sartory’s remote participation was illness.  Chair Krokidas noted that all votes taken at the meeting would be by roll call.

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

On the motion of Commissioner Kantrowitz, seconded by Commissioner Martinez, the Commission voted 5-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session and executive session minutes of the December 20, 2018 Commission meeting.

VOTE:  Chair Krokidas                    yes    
             Commissioner Mills            yes  
             Commissioner Sartory        yes  
             Commissioner Kantrowitz  yes
             Commissioner Martinez      yes 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.

Personnel

Mr. Wilson introduced new Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald, who joined the Commission staff on January 7, 2019, from Cunha & Holcomb, P.C.  The Commission welcomed Mr. McDonald.

Mr. Wilson said that there is one remaining vacancy for a Legal Division attorney position, and that it is the last of five positions that were vacant during the fiscal year. He said the response to the position has been strong, and that the position was posted in several venues and with many organizations, including the MassCareers website, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the Massachusetts Bar Association, seven women’s or minority bar associations, the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, and six area law schools. He said he expects interviews to begin soon. General Counsel Eve Slattery said the Commission received 58 applications for the position to date.

Building Issues

Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission office was closed January 22, 2019 due to a lack of heat. He said that the building manager of the McCormack Building requested late the previous night that staff not report to work. Mr. Wilson said the building manager explained that the boilers in the building were in the process of being replaced.

Budget

Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Fiscal Year 2020 budget. Mr. Wilson said the Governor was expected to issue the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Proposal later in the day. He said that the Commission’s budget team would submit the Commission’s maintenance budget request to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means in the next week.

New Case Management System

Mr. Wilson reported that staff have been working to identify a replacement of the Commission’s current case management system, Ethos, which is more than a decade old. He said the process started two years ago, and that staff met with a consultant in spring 2017.

Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt said the Commission has partnered in the project with the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security and a core group of state agencies interested in a combed effort to purchase a case management system. He said additional state agencies may join the effort.

Collection of Civil Penalties

Mr. Wilson stated that the Commission has issued appropriate demand letters to several persons owing total of $83,000 in unpaid civil penalties. He said the letters were written in accordance with the requirements of the state intercept program. Mr. Wilson said the civil penalties were imposed between January 2008 and October 2017, with all but one imposed prior to November 2015. Mr. Wilson said that one person owed an outstanding civil penalty of about $35,000. Ms. Slattery said that the Commission is working with the Department of Revenue to explore options in addition to the intercept program to assist in the collection of the unpaid civil penalties.

Next Meeting

After discussion, the Commission scheduled the next Commission meetings for February 21, 2019 and March 21, 2019, at 9:30 a.m.

PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION REPORT

Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented the monthly Public Education and Communications Division Report.

Mr. Giannotti informed the Commission that he would be participating in a panel discussion for new legislative staff at the Legislative Staff Academy hosted by the Moakley Center for Public Management at Suffolk University.  Included in the panel discussion were state Child Advocate Maria Mossaides, Counsel to the House of Representatives James Kennedy and Counsel to the Senate Jennifer Miller.  Mr. Giannotti also reported that he would be participating in a Board of Higher Education training program for new members of state college boards of trustees at Mass Bay Community College.  The Inspector General’s Office and the Attorney General’s Public Charities Division would also be presenting at the program. 

Mr. Giannotti reported that the 2019 education and training compliance period has begun. Section 27 of the conflict of interest law requires that all state and county agencies, all municipalities and independent municipal agencies annually distribute the summary of the conflict of interest law to, and collect acknowledgments from, all employees.  Section 28 of the law requires that every other year, all public employees complete either of the online training programs and provide a completion certificate to their employer.  Mr. Giannotti stated that he sent email notifications in December regarding the training requirements to all municipalities, independent municipal agencies, regional school districts, educational collaboratives and charter schools, and that he is in the process of sending notifications to all county and state agencies.  Mr. Giannotti stated that the Commission is required to collect the education compliance records for all elected state and county officials.  He said that he will separately notify all elected state and county officials to provide them with the summary of the conflict of interest law and to inform them that they will be required to complete the online training program and provide both their summary acknowledgement forms and online training program completion certificates.

Mr. Giannotti reported that the Commission submitted a Fiscal Year 2020 capital funding request to the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security for a new online training program.  Mr. Giannotti said the process can ultimately take several years to complete.  The Commission will be notified in late spring about whether its funding request has been approved.  Mr. Giannotti thanked Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti and Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt for their efforts to put together and submit the funding request.

LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS

General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division. She welcomed Mr. McDonald to the Legal Division staff.

Legal Division Metrics for December 2018

Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for December 2018.           

• Written advice.  The Legal Division answered by letter or email 38 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B.

          For comparison:  December 2017 (same month last year):                    52
                                        November 2018 (previous month):                             59

• Oral advice.  The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone or on a walk-in basis in response to 334 requests for advice from state, county and municipal officials.

          For comparison:  December 2017 (same month last year):                    369                 
                                        November 2018 (previous month):                             333

• Review of municipal letters.  Division staff reviewed 0 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.

          For comparison:  December 2017 (same month last year):                    2                     
                                        November 2018 (previous month):                             0         

• Backlog.  As of today, the Division has 9 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old.  There is a total of 27 pending requests for written advice.

SFI Summary

Deputy Legal Division Chief/SFI Lauren E. Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests. She reported that the SFI Team has continued to assist new filers in completing their 2017 SFIs. The deadline for agencies to submit their CY 2018 Designation Lists containing the names and titles of all their required SFI filers was January 8, 2019.  Prior to the deadline, the SFI Team sent reminders to all agencies.  Beginning on January 9, the SFI Team contacted those agencies that missed the deadline and worked with them to get their Designation Lists submitted. Ms. Duca said that the SFI Team updated the manual and online CY 2018 SFI forms and prepared a notice for the website about the SFI filing season. The SFI Team also developed a policy to track manually filed SFIs, which must be scanned, redacted and uploaded into the SFI system.  Ms. Duca said the SFI filing season originally expected to open on January 24, 2019, but that the opening date would be pushed back a few days. She said filers will have three full months to file their SFIs.

Adjudicatory Matters

Ms. Slattery presented a calendar of hearing dates and pre-hearing conferences in pending Commission adjudicatory matters.

Litigation Matters

McGovern v. State Ethics Commission:  Appeals Court Docket No. 2018-P-1060.  On January 2, 2109, McGovern filed a Motion for Enlargement of Time Within Which to File His Reply Brief and a Reply Brief.  The Court Allowed McGovern’s Motion and accepted his Reply Brief.  On January 10, 2019, the Court notified the parties that oral argument will be scheduled to take place before a panel of justices on a date during the first two weeks of March.  McGovern’s Counsel has informed the Court that the only date he is available for oral argument during this time period is March 12, 2019.      

ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS

Investigations Unit Metrics Report

Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Case Metrics for Fiscal Year 2019 and the Enforcement Intake Metrics for December 2018. She reported the total open complaint number are now at the lowest level they have been since July 2017, when these numbers began being recorded.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

At 10:10 a.m., on the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Mills, the Commission voted 5-0 to enter executive session to discuss matters subject to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A, § 21, subparagraph (a)(7), and § 18, and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 3 and 4, including investigatory matters, preliminary inquiries, summons authorization requests, and advisory opinions.

VOTE:  Chair Krokidas                    yes    
             Commissioner Mills            yes  
             Commissioner Sartory        yes  
             Commissioner Kantrowitz  yes
             Commissioner Martinez      yes 

Chair Krokidas stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.

Commissioner Sartory confirmed that he was alone and that no other person was present at his location.

LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING

1. Agenda for the Commission Meeting of January 23, 2019
    
2. Minutes of the State Ethics Commission Meeting of December 20, 2018 Public and Executive Sessions
    
3. Memorandum dated January 17, 2019 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning the Public Education and Communications Division report for the meeting
    
4. Memorandum dated January 14, 2019 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the January 23, 2019 meeting
    
5. Legal Division Calendar
    
6. Report on Enforcement Division Case Metrics
    
7. Report of Enforcement Division Intake Metrics

Respectfully submitted,
Gerry Tuoti
Public Information Officer