PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m. Also in attendance were, Commissioner R. Marc Kantrowitz, Commissioner Josefina Martinez, Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., and Commissioner Eron Hackshaw. Chair Krokidas, Commissioner Kantrowitz, Commissioner Martinez, Commissioner Edwards, and Commissioner Hackshaw participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Chair Krokidas announced that the meeting would take place remotely pursuant to Governor Baker’s Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, § 20, dated March 12, 2020. She stated that members of the public had been invited to watch and listen to the public session via Zoom Webinar. Chair Krokidas noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
Chair Krokidas congratulated Commissioner Edwards for being a recipient of the Daniel G. Holland Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his significant contributions to Boston College Law School and the community.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Kantrowitz, the Commission voted 5-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the January 6, 2021 Commission meeting as amended at the meeting.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Kantrowitz | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR
On the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 5-0 to elect Commissioner Kantrowitz as Vice Chair.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Kantrowitz | 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 reported that the new Assistant Agency Counsel position was posted and the Commission has received over 40 job applications. He noted that while the application deadline is February 19, 2021, the deadline may be extended one week. Mr. Wilson explained that the hiring of the Assistant Agency Counsel is possible because the Legislature provided the Commission with an increased level of funding in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget in order to support the addition of the new attorney position.
Budget
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission submitted its $2,666,363 maintenance budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, approximately $82,000 more than the Commission’s funding for Fiscal Year 2021. He thanked Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt and Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu for their work on the budget, including providing a budget overview at the Audit, Finance and Human Resources Committee meeting on February 3, 2021.
Legislation
Mr. Wilson said that, while the Commission has full regulatory authority over the financial disclosure law, it does not have full regulatory authority over the conflict of interest law. He explained that full regulatory authority has long been a Commission goal and that the Commission advocated for such authority before the Legislature’s joint ethics task force several years ago; however, the Legislature has not since acted on the matter. Mr. Wilson stated that on the Tuesday before the Commission meeting, at the Commission’s request, Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr filed SD.1374 An Act Relative to the Authority of the State Ethics Commission which would grant full regulatory authority to the Commission. Mr. Wilson expressed thanks for Senator Tarr’s assistance and continued strong support for the Commission. Mr. Wilson stated that the filing of the bill is just the start of a long process and that much work will need to be done in support of the bill. Mr. Wilson further stated that, while most of this work will be performed by the staff, some or all of the Commissioners may be asked to help in this effort.
Ongoing Projects
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s online conflict of interest law training program. Mr. Tuoti said that the Commission’s project team is reviewing and finalizing the RFQ and expects to issue it soon. He explained that the Commission would select and enter into a contract with a vendor to create a new online training program in the spring, with work continuing into the next fiscal year. Mr. Tuoti added that the Commission’s request for capital funding for Fiscal Year 2022 is pending.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Mr. Milt provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s legacy case management system, Ethos. Mr. Milt explained that the replacement process will involve multiple state agencies to secure a unified case management enterprise solution with separate platforms for each agency. He noted that the project team is in the process of hiring a consultant to help select a vendor and to oversee the long-term implementation of the new case management system. Mr. Milt said that the project team’s goal is to issue the RFQ for the case management system by April or May 2021, and noted that an additional $500,000 in capital funding has been requested for Fiscal Year 2022. He further stated that the Commission will need to migrate existing data from Ethos and paper files to the new case management system, so he hopes that the Commission can use capital funding to hire a vendor to assist with the data migration.
Mr. Wilson said that he anticipates that Commission staff will return to the office in the coming months, and he hopes to make the reopened office as safe and comfortable as possible. He stated that, while most Commission staff are still working from home, the office kitchenette will be relocated in order to install a new workstation for additional workspace and the interiors of most of the staff’s individual offices, many of which have not been painted in decades, will be painted.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.
APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRS OF COMMISSION COMMITTEES
On the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Vice Chair Kantrowitz, the Commission voted 5-0 to appoint Vice Chair Kantrowitz to serve as Chair of the Legal Committee, Commissioner Martinez to serve as Chair of the Audit, Finance and Human Resources Committee, Commissioner Edwards to serve as Chair of the Enforcement Committee, and Commissioner Hackshaw to serve as Chair of the External Relations and Technology Committee.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Vice Chair Kantrowitz | 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 months of December 2020 and January 2021.
Mr. Giannotti reported that Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti issued four press releases during December 2020 and January 2021. He added that Mr. Tuoti issued reminders to public employees concerning conflict of interest law restrictions on gifts to public employees, the use of public resources for campaign or political activity, and the use of official position to gain unwarranted early access to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Mr. Giannotti reported that he conducted ten 90-minute remote public education seminars during December 2020 and January 2021 attended by a total of 526 public employees.
Mr. Giannotti said that Program Coordinator Arthur Xia emailed annual notices concerning the conflict of interest law education requirements to all state and county agencies, and municipalities on January 15, 2021. All public employees will be required to acknowledge receipt of a summary of the conflict of interest law and complete the online training program during the Calendar Year 2021 compliance period. Mr. Giannotti said that Mr. Xia also notified all 327 elected state and county officials about the training requirements and that 222 summary acknowledgements and 77 completion certificates have been submitted by elected state and county officials to the Commission.
Mr. Giannotti said that he revised the online training programs by fixing broken links and converting audio and video files from Flash to HTML5. He said that he assisted multiple agencies, including Massport and the state Human Resources Division, with their learning management systems so that employees can complete the online training program.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Ms. Slattery reported that Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald participated in the Massachusetts Legislative Academy Staff Seminar at Suffolk University on January 29, 2021 to provide an introduction to the conflict of interest law to new legislative staff.
Legal Division Metrics for December 2020 and January 2021
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for December 2020 and January 2021.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 40 (December) and 27 (January) written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 5 (December) and 13 (January) pertained to SFIs.
| December 2019 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 50/7 |
| January 2020 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 53/10 |
| November 2020 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 22/2 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 325 (December) and 401 (January) requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 43 (December) and 80 (January) pertained to SFIs.
| December 2019 (same month last year) (total/SFI): | 366/34 |
| January 2020 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 566/57 |
| November 2020 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 228/2 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 0 (December) and 1 (January) letter issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| December 2019 (same month last year): | 1 |
| January 2020 (same month last year): | 0 |
| November 2020 (previous month): | 1 |
- Backlog. As of February 10, 2021, the Division has 3 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There is a total of 20 pending requests for written advice.
SFI Summary
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) filing season. Ms. Duca said that a technical issue with the SFI system was detected before the CY 2020 SFI filing season was scheduled to open on January 25, 2021. She said that the SFI Team worked with the vendor to fix the issue, which delayed the opening until February 10, 2021. Ms. Duca reported that 492 people have already filed. She thanked Staff Counsel Norah Mallam and Assistant General Counsel Ting Chiu for reviewing the CY 2020 manual SFI form and Program Coordinator Arthur Xia for posting the manual form and information about the opening of the CY 2020 SFI filing season on the website.
Ms. Duca said that the SFI Team negotiated and reviewed a proposed maintenance and service agreement for the Calendar Year 2020 SFI filing season with the vendor who developed the SFI system. She noted that an agreement was executed by the Commission providing for maintenance and service through June 30, 2021.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the February calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery provided an update in litigation matters. She reported that in February the Commission filed an Opposition to the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings in Comtois v. State Ethics Commission, Suffolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2084CV02105.
Vice Chair Kantrowitz asked about Donohue v. State Ethics Commission, Norfolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2082CV00886 since the Commission did not receive the Plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings that was due to be served by January 13, 2021. Ms. Slattery explained that the Commission expects to file a motion to dismiss in the future if the Plaintiff does not respond.
Commission Projects
Ms. Slattery provided an update on projects discussed at prior Commission meetings. Chair Krokidas commended the Legal Division for the final demand letters that led to the collection of $9,775 from three debtors.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics and Enforcement Case Metrics.
Ms. Brookman welcomed back Paul Murray, who filled the vacant Special Investigator position in the Enforcement Division after working as a contract investigator. She also welcomed new Special Investigator Lena Sarunn, who previously served as an executive director of a nonprofit organization. Ms. Brookman said that with the additional staffing, she hopes to further reduce the complaint backlog and the duration of preliminary inquiries.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:46 a.m., on the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Vice Chair Kantrowitz, 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 adjudicatory matters.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Vice Chair Kantrowitz | 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.
The meeting recessed at 10:46 a.m. and reconvened at 10:53 a.m.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of February 18, 2021
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of January 6, 2021 Public Session
- Memorandum dated February 11, 2021 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning the Public Education and Communications Division activities in December 2020 and January 2021
- Memorandum dated February 10, 2021 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
- Memorandum dated February 11, 2021 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission concerning an update on pending projects
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
- Enforcement Case Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Program Coordinator