PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. Also in attendance were Commissioner Josefina Martinez, Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., and Commissioner Eron Hackshaw. Commissioner Edwards participated remotely. Vice Chair R. Marc Kantrowitz was not present.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Chair Krokidas announced that the meeting would take place in-person with remote access provided to the public pursuant to the law signed by Governor Baker on July 16, 2022 extending certain COVID-19 measures adopted during the state of emergency. Chair Krokidas noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Martinez, the Commission voted 4-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the November 17, 2022 Commission meeting.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson thanked Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu for promptly processing and putting into effect the staff salary increases approved by the Commission in November.
Mr. Wilson reported that the staff has been interviewing candidates for the open receptionist position.
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission office was closed to visitors the day after Thanksgiving to allow the Commission’s administrative assistants and receptionist to work from home.
Budget
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission will submit its Fiscal Year 2024 maintenance and expansion budget request to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means in late January or early February. He stated that the Commission is requesting $3,550,400, approximately $551,000 more than the amount appropriated to the Commission in Fiscal Year 2023. Mr. Wilson explained that the maintenance and expansion request includes funding for the subscription costs associated with the new learning management system and the new legal case management system and for a new attorney position that would help support possible Commission mediation, pro bono counsel, and legal internship programs and the revision of Commission regulations. Mr. Wilson noted that the request also seeks funding for additional training for Commission staff.
Ongoing Projects
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Senior Public Information and Communications Officer Gerry Tuoti provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s conflict of interest law online training programs. Mr. Tuoti said that he expects the new online training program to be available to the public in mid-January in time for the next compliance period. He reported that the vendor, SkillBurst Interactive, has addressed the edits for the Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese translations of the new training program. Mr. Tuoti stated that the Commission staff is currently reviewing the edits before the final course file is uploaded onto the Commission’s new hosting platform and provided to agencies that plan to host it on their own platforms. He said that the Public Education and Communications Division is conducting outreach to agencies and municipalities to register them to use the Commission’s hosting platform and identifying the local administrators who will track the compliance of their employees with the conflict of interest law education requirements. Mr. Tuoti noted that SkillBurst is finalizing an on-demand training module for local administrators who will use the platform to automatically track their employees’ compliance.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s legacy case management system, Ethos. Mr. Milt reported that the Core Project Team is currently discussing current business needs and workflows with the developers of the new case management system. He noted that the Core Project Team met with the vendor on December 7, 2022 to plan the initial phase of the project, including gathering document templates and mapping the Commission’s legacy case management system.
Mr. Wilson thanked Mr. Tuoti and Mr. Milt for their leadership and diligence in managing the two projects.
COGEL Conference
Mr. Wilson stated that the annual Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) Conference, held on December 4-7, 2022 in Montreal, was attended by over 400 public officials and experts in the fields of campaign finance, governmental ethics, elections, lobbying, and freedom of information. He noted that the Commission sent to the conference a delegation consisting of Commissioner Hackshaw, Legal Division Staff Counsel Amy Bressler Nee, Assistant General Counsel Ting Chiu, Enforcement Division Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt, Senior Assistant Enforcement Counsel Victoria Giuliano, Special Investigator Shawn McElroy, Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia, and himself. Mr. Wilson reported that he and Commissioner Hackshaw discussed with COGEL officials the idea of Commission staff making a presentation at the next COGEL Conference in Kansas City on the conception, creation, and implementation of a new conflict of interest law online training program. He stated that a proposal concerning the presentation will be submitted to the Conference Program Committee by the deadline in February 2023.
New Legislators Academy
Mr. Wilson noted that the Commission was invited to the Academy for New Legislators at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to help educate newly elected legislators about the conflict of interest law. He stated that General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery and Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald would leave the Commission meeting in order to travel to the event and participate in a panel discussion on ethics and the role of the Commission that afternoon. Chair Krokidas said that Ms. Slattery should continue to advocate for full regulatory authority of the conflict of interest law for the Commission.
Holiday Party
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission holiday party is scheduled for December 20, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. He thanked Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca, Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt, Assistant Agency Counsel John McDonald, and Special Investigator Shawn McElroy for arranging the event.
Next Meeting
Following discussion, the Commission scheduled its next meeting for January 26, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.
COMPENSATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Commissioner Martinez reported that the Audit, Finance and Human Resources Committee met on November 22, 2022 to discuss the compensation of the Executive Director. She noted that the Executive Director has not received a salary increase in several years and said that she appreciates Mr. Wilson’s leadership and dedication to the Commission.
Following discussion, on the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Martinez, the Commission voted 4-0 to approve the salary increase of the Executive Director to $172,000 annually, retroactively effective from July 1, 2022.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented his memorandum detailing Public Education and Communications Division activities for the month of November 2022.
Mr. Giannotti stated that the Public Education and Communications Division has promoted the new conflict of interest law online training course via the Commission’s website and notified all public agencies and municipalities by e-mail about the upcoming launch of the new program and hosting platform. He noted that public agencies and municipalities were asked to notify the Commission via Google Forms of their intent to either use the Commission’s hosting platform or their own platform. Mr. Giannotti reported that, to date, 554 public agencies and municipalities have responded to the Google Forms survey, including 294 municipalities, 96 state agencies, 9 county agencies, 68 regional school districts, 48 independent municipal utilities, and 39 charter schools. He noted that 20 agencies and municipalities declined to use the Commission’s hosting platform because they plan to use their own hosting solution. Mr. Giannotti said that SkillBurst will also host a live training session for local administrators, so he would like to register as many agencies and municipalities to use the Commission’s hosting platform as soon as possible.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca reported on the activities of the Legal Division in the absence of General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery.
Legal Division Metrics for November 2022
Ms. Duca presented the following Legal Division metrics for November 2022.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 52 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 2 pertained to SFIs.
| November 2021 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 64/19 |
| October 2022 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 41/11 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 313 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 36 pertained to SFIs.
| November 2021 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 346/8 |
| October 2022 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 391/13 |
- 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.
| November 2021 (same month prior year): | 1 |
| October 2022 (previous month): | 1 |
- Backlog. As of December 7, 2022, the Division has 8 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There is a total of 3 pending requests for written advice.
SFI Summary
Ms. Duca provided an update on the Calendar Year 2022 Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) filing season. She reported that the SFI Team has responded to phone and e-mail inquiries from agencies about whether certain employees needed to be designated as SFI filers. Ms. Duca stated that they are working with agencies regarding their employees who have not been put into the SFI system as new filers. She stated that the SFI Team has continued to work with a vendor to establish a service and maintenance agreement for the Calendar Year 2022 filing season.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Duca reported that there are no pending adjudicatory matters.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Duca provided an update on litigation matters. She reported that, in Donohue v. State Ethics Commission, Norfolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2082CV00886, Ms. Donahue has not filed any Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.
Ms. Duca reported that, in Comtois v. State Ethics Commission, Appeals Court Docket No. 2021-P-1151, oral arguments were held on October 13, 2022, and the matter is currently under advisement.
Ms. Duca reported that, in Ember Pizza, Inc. et al. v. Town of Harwich, Barnstable Superior Court Civil Action No. 2172CV00349, the Commission was named as a “nominal respondent” in a Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Mandamus and Request for Declaratory and Other Relief (Petition). She noted that no relief was sought against the Commission, and the Commission was never served with the Petition. Ms. Duca stated that the Amended Complaint was dismissed on September 7, 2022, and Plaintiffs have filed an appeal.
Ms. Duca reported that, in Fournier v. State Ethics Commission, Suffolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2184CV2474B, the Superior Court issued a decision in favor of the Commission on September 22, 2022 and noted that Mr. Fournier did not file an appeal in the time period permitted under the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Ms. Duca reported that, in Haley v. State Ethics Commission, Suffolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2284CV02661, the Commission was served with a Complaint for Judicial Review on November 22, 2022, and in lieu of an answer, the Commission will file the Administrative Record, which is due by February 21, 2023.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics.
Ms. Brookman reported that the complaint backlog has continued to drop and said that there were fewer than ten complaints in intake that were over six months old. She noted that some of these matters will be presented as preliminary inquiry recommendations at the next Commission meeting.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:30 a.m., on the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Martinez, 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.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
Chair Krokidas 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 December 15, 2022
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of November 17, 2022 Public Session
- Memorandum dated December 8, 2022 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in November 2022
- Memorandum dated December 7, 2022 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the meeting
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator