PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Vice Chair Josefina Martinez called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. Also in attendance were Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., Commissioner Eron Hackshaw, and Commissioner Thomas A. Connors. Chair Margot Botsford did not attend.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Vice Chair Martinez announced that the meeting would take place in-person with remote access provided to the public pursuant to the law signed by Governor Healey on March 29, 2023. Vice Chair Martinez noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Connors, the Commission voted 4-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the March 21, 2024 Commission meeting.
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson welcomed new Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough, who previously worked for the State Senate for over 20 years, including as a Senior Policy Analyst for Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr. He reported that Ms. McCullough started her new position on April 22, 2024, and that all recently-posted Commission staff vacancies have been filled.
Budget
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget process. He stated that the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget recommendation includes $3,634,121 in funding for the Commission, about a $149,090 increase over Fiscal Year 2024, but still approximately $308,000 less than the Commission’s full budget request. Mr. Wilson said that he and Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu submitted the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2025 maintenance and expansion budget request for $3,942,219 to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means on January 29, 2024. He explained that the expansion request seeks funding for a new Commission paid internship program, additional branched content for the Commission’s online conflict of interest law training program, and a new Public Education and Communications Division staff position to provide technical assistance for the online learning management system, the legacy SFI system, and new legal case management system being launched in June. Mr. Wilson reported that, despite his written and spoken testimony before the Senate and House Joint Committee on Ways and Means last month in support of the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, the House Committee on Ways and Means released its budget recommendations on April 10, 2024 with the same level of funding for the Commission as the Governor’s budget. He noted that he, Ms. Wu, and Ms. McCullough will work on a strategy to further advocate for the Commission’s full Fiscal Year 2025 budget request.
New Commissioner
Mr. Wilson stated that there is nothing new to report regarding the appointment of a new commissioner to succeed Vice Chair Martinez.
ITD Professional Fellows Program
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission would soon serve as a host organization for an Institute for Training and Development fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. At Mr. Wilson's request, Senior Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald provided a description of the Professional Fellows Program. Mr. McDonald explained that the Institute for Training and Development, based in Amherst, manages the Professional Fellows Program, a global exchange program dedicated to education and intercultural exchange. He reported that the Commission will host Emily Flores, who has spent her career focused on governmental transparency and anti-corruption issues in Honduras, from May 15, 2024 to June 7, 2024. Mr. McDonald noted that plans for Ms. Flores include meetings with staff from each of the Commission’s Divisions to learn more about the different Commission activities, including Attorney of the Day, and attending the May Commission meeting.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for May 23, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. Following discussion, the Commission scheduled its subsequent meeting for June 20, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Vice Chair Martinez stated that the Commission will table the discussion of the performance evaluation of the Executive Director until the next Commission meeting when Chair Botsford is in attendance.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
In the absence of Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti, Senior Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti presented Mr. Giannotti’s memorandum detailing Public Education and Communications Division activities for the month of March 2024.
Mr. Tuoti reported that the Division responded to 324 telephone and e-mail inquiries regarding the online learning platform in February, an average of about 12 inquiries a day and a decrease from the 386 inquiries reported last month. He further reported that, as a result, the average number of monthly telephone and e-mail inquiries over the past five months decreased to approximately 384. Mr. Tuoti reported that over 100,000 completion certificates have been issued to public employees during the Calendar Year 2024 compliance cycle for either acknowledging receipt of the summary of the conflict of interest law or completing the conflict of interest law training.
Mr. Tuoti noted that the Commission is the keeper of the conflict of interest law education compliance records for elected state and county officials and that Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia has been responding to inquiries from elected state and county officials about the requirements. He reported that 291 elected state and county officials have already complied with the conflict of interest law education requirements for this year, including the entire House and Senate.
Mr. Tuoti reported that the work to translate the closed captioning of the online conflict of interest law training into Haitian Creole is now in progress. He said that he expects that the Haitian Creole translations would be completed by the end of the fiscal year.
Mr. Tuoti reported that the Division and its vendor, SkillBurst Interactive, will provide a live training session to local administrators in May about the administrative functions of the conflict of interest law online training learning management system, including generating compliance reports, managing user accounts, sending reminder messages, and accommodating employees who work for multiple municipalities or agencies.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Legal Division Metrics for March 2024
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for March 2024.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 61 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 16 pertained to SFIs.
| March 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 57/4 |
| February 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 69/30 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 379 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 15 pertained to SFIs.
| March 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 519/17 |
| February 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 410/18 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 2 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| March 2023 (same month prior year): | 3 |
| February 2024 (previous month): | 2 |
- Backlog. As of April 17, 2024, the Division has 1 pending requests for written advice that is more than 30 days old. There are a total of 13 pending requests for written advice.
Adjudicatory Matters
As of April 17, 2024, the Division has 1 pending requests for written advice that is more than 30 days old. There are a total of 13 pending requests for written advice.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery provided an update on litigation matters. She reported that, in Haley v. State Ethics Commission, Suffolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2284CV02661, the plaintiff did not file a Notice of Appeal within the time permitted by Mass. R. App. P. 4(a). Commissioner Connors, who was appointed to the Commission after the Commission’s 2022 decision that Gary Haley violated the conflict of interest law, asked whether the Commission had assessed a civil penalty for the violations. Ms. Slattery explained that the Commission had ordered Haley to pay a $10,000 civil penalty, but the civil penalty was on hold until a decision was made in the appeal. She noted that she had sent a letter to Haley’s attorney requesting payment of the $10,000 civil penalty.
Ms. Slattery reported that, in McKeon v. Executive Office of Public Safety et al., Appeals Court No. 2024-P-0347, Richard McKeon filed an appeal of the Superior Court’s Summary Judgment on March 27, 2024. She explained that the Commission had been named as a defendant in the Superior Court action, but the plaintiff subsequently filed a notice of dismissal of the Commission with prejudice. Ms. Slattery further explained that, in the underlying case, McKeon sought indemnification for his legal fees in defending himself in a Commission adjudicatory proceeding. She noted that the Commission was notified of the appeal as a party in the lower court case, but is not expected by the Appeals Court to file a brief.
SFI Report
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests (SFI) for Calendar Year 2023. Ms. Duca said that the filing deadline for appointed public employees is May 1, 2024. She reported that, as of this date, 1,117 of the approximately 3,800 people still needed to file. Ms. Duca further reported that the SFI Team responded to 122 phone and e-mail inquiries in March from filers seeking technical and legal assistance with their SFI filing. She explained that appointed public employees who do not file by the May 1, 2024 filing deadline will be sent a formal notice of lateness that will provide them with a 10-day statutory grace period to file without incurring any possible civil penalty for their late filing.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Case Metrics and Enforcement Intake Metrics. Ms. Brookman reported that the Enforcement Division has continued to keep the number of cases in the complaint backlog low and said that she hopes to further reduce the backlog.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 9:58 a.m., on the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 4-0 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 adjudicatory matters.
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
Vice Chair Martinez stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of April 25, 2024
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of March 21, 2024 Public Session
- Memorandum dated April 18, 2024 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in March 2024
- Memorandum dated April 17, 2024 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the meeting
- Calendar of hearing dates and pre-hearing conferences in pending Commission adjudicatory matters
- Enforcement Case Metrics
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator