Section 1
Definitions
In this chapter the following words, unless a different meaning is required by the context or is specifically prescribed, shall have the following meanings:
(a) " Compensation ", any money, thing of value or economic benefit conferred on or received by any person in return for services rendered or to be rendered by himself or another.
(b) " Competitive bidding ", all bidding, where the same may be prescribed by applicable sections of the General Laws or otherwise, given and tendered to a state, county or municipal agency in response to an open solicitation of bids from the general public by public announcement or public advertising, where the contract is awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
(c) " County agency ", any department or office of county government and any division, board, bureau, commission, institution, tribunal or other instrumentality thereof or thereunder.
(d) " County employee ", a person performing services for or holding an office, position, employment, or membership in a county agency, whether by election, appointment, contract of hire or engagement, whether serving with or without compensation, on a full, regular, part-time, intermittent, or consultant basis.
(e) " Immediate family ", the employee and his spouse, and their parents, children, brothers and sisters.
(f) " Municipal agency ", any department or office of a city or town government and any council, division, board, bureau, commission, institution, tribunal or other instrumentality thereof or thereunder.
(g) " Municipal employee ", a person performing services for or holding an office, position, employment or membership in a municipal agency, whether by election, appointment, contract of hire or engagement, whether serving with or without compensation, on a full, regular, part-time, intermittent, or consultant basis, but excluding (l) elected members of a town meeting and (2) members of a charter commission established under Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution.
(h) " Official act ", any decision or action in a particular matter or in the enactment of legislation.
(i) " Official responsibility ", the direct administrative or operating authority, whether intermediate or final, and either exercisable alone or with others, and whether personal or through subordinates, to approve, disapprove or otherwise direct agency action.
(j) "Participate ", participate in agency action or in a particular matter personally and substantially as a state, county or municipal employee, through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation or otherwise.
(k) " Particular matter ", any judicial or other proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, decision, determination, finding, but excluding enactment of general legislation by the general court and petitions of cities, towns, counties and districts for special laws related to their governmental organizations, powers, duties, finances and property.
(l) " Person who has been selected ", any person who has been nominated or appointed to be a state, county or municipal employee or has been officially informed that he will be so nominated or appointed.
(m) " Special county employee ", a county employee who is performing services or holding an office, position, employment or membership for which no compensation is provided; or who is not an elected official and (l) occupies a position which, by its classification in the county agency involved or by the terms of the contract or conditions of employment, permits personal or private employment during normal working hours, provided that disclosure of such classification or permission is filed in writing with the State Ethics Commission and the office of the county commissioners prior to the commencement of any personal or private employment, or (2) in fact does not earn compensation as a county employee for an aggregate of more than eight hundred hours during the preceding three hundred and sixty-five days. For this purpose compensation by the day shall be considered as equivalent to compensation for seven hours per day. A special county employee shall be in such a status on days for which he is not compensated as well as on days on which he earns compensation.
(n) " Special municipal employee ", a municipal employee who is not a mayor, a member of the board of aldermen, a member of a city council, or a selectman in a town with a population in excess of ten thousand persons and whose position has been expressly classified by the city council, or board of aldermen if there is no city council, or board of selectmen, as that of a special employee under the terms and provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that a selectman in a town with a population of ten thousand or fewer persons shall be a special municipal employee without being expressly so classified. All employees who hold equivalent offices, positions, employment or membership in the same municipal agency shall have the same classification; provided, however, no municipal employee shall be classified as a "special municipal employee" unless he occupies a position for which no compensation is provided or which, by its classification in the municipal agency involved or by the terms of the contract or conditions of employment, permits personal or private employment during normal working hours, or unless he in fact does not earn compensation as a municipal employee for an aggregate of more than eight hundred hours during the preceding three hundred and sixty-five days. For this purpose compensation by the day shall be considered as equivalent to compensation for seven hours per day. A special municipal employee shall be in such status on days for which he is not compensated as well as on days on which he earns compensation. All employees of any city or town wherein no such classification has been made shall be deemed to be "municipal employees" and shall be subject to all the provisions of this chapter with respect thereto without exception.
(o) " Special state employee ", a state employee:
(l) who is performing services or holding an office, position, employment or membership for which no compensation is provided, or
(2) who is not an elected official and
(a) occupies a position which, by its classification in the state agency involved or by the terms of the contract or conditions of employment, permits personal or private employment during normal working hours, provided that disclosure of such classification or permission is filed in writing with the state ethics commission prior to the commencement of any personal or private employment, or
(b) in fact does not earn compensation as a state employee for an aggregate of more than eight hundred hours during the preceding three hundred and sixty-five days. For this purpose compensation by the day shall be considered as equivalent to compensation for seven hours per day. A special state employee shall be in such a status on days for which he is not compensated as well as on days on which he earns compensation.
(p) " State agency ", any department of state government including the executive, legislative or judicial, and all councils thereof and thereunder, and any division, board, bureau, commission, institution, tribunal or other instrumentality within such department, and any independent state authority, district, commission, instrumentality or agency, but not an agency of a county, city or town.
(q) " State employee ", a person performing services for or holding an office, position, employment, or membership in a state agency, whether by election, appointment, contract of hire or engagement, whether serving with or without compensation, on a full, regular, part-time, intermittent or consultant basis, including members of the general court and executive council. No construction contractor nor any of their personnel shall be deemed to be a state employee or special state employee under the provisions of paragraph (o) or this paragraph as a result of participation in the engineering and environmental analysis for major construction projects either as a consultant or part of a consultant group for the commonwealth. Such contractors or personnel may be awarded construction contracts by the commonwealth and may continue with outstanding construction contracts with the commonwealth during the period of such participation; provided, that no such contractor or personnel shall directly or indirectly bid on or be awarded a contract for any construction project if they have participated in the engineering or environmental analysis thereof.
Section 2
Corrupt gifts, offers or promises to influence official acts; corruption of witnesses
(a) Whoever, directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or promises anything of value to any state, county or municipal employee, or to any person who has been selected to be such an employee, or to any member of the judiciary, or who offers or promises any such employee or any member of the judiciary, or any person who has been selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary, to give anything of value to any other person or entity, with intent:
(l) to influence any official act or any act within the official responsibility of such employee or member of the judiciary or person who has been selected to be such employee or member of the judiciary, or
(2) to influence such an employee or member of the judiciary or person who has been selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary, to commit or aid in committing, or collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud on the commonwealth or a state, county or municipal agency, or
(3) to induce such an employee or member of the judiciary or person who has been selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary to do or omit to do any act in violation of his lawful duty; or
(b) Whoever, being a state, county or municipal employee or a member of the judiciary or a person selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary, directly or indirectly, corruptly asks, demands, exacts, solicits, seeks, accepts, receives or agrees to receive anything of value for himself or for any other person or entity, in return for
(l) being influenced in his performance of any official act or any act within his official responsibility, or
(2) being influenced to commit or aid in committing, or to collude in, or allow any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud, on the commonwealth or on a state, county or municipal agency, or
(3) being induced to do or omit to do any acts in violation of his official duty; or
(c) Whoever, directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or promises anything of value to any person, or offers or promises such person to give anything of value to any other person or entity, with intent to influence the testimony under oath or affirmation of such first-mentioned person or any other person as a witness upon a trial, or other proceeding, before any court, any committee of either house or both houses of the general court, or any agency, commission or officer authorized by the laws of the commonwealth to hear evidence or take testimony, or with intent to influence such witness to absent himself therefrom; or
(d) Whoever, directly, or indirectly, corruptly asks, demands, exacts, solicits, seeks, accepts, receives or agrees to receive anything of value for himself or for any other person or entity in return for influence upon the testimony under oath or affirmation of himself or any other person as a witness upon any such trial, hearing or other proceeding or in return for the absence of himself or any other person there from; shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both; and in the event of final conviction shall be incapable of holding any office of honor, trust or profit under the commonwealth or under any state, county or municipal agency.
Clauses (c) and (d) shall not be construed to prohibit the payment or receipt of witness fees provided by law or the payment by the party upon whose behalf a witness is called and receipt by a witness of the reasonable cost of travel and subsistence incurred and the reasonable value of time lost in attendance at any such trial, hearing or proceeding, or, in the case of expert witnesses, involving a technical or professional opinion, a reasonable fee for time spent in the preparation of such opinion, in appearing or testifying.
Section 3
Gifts, offers or promises for acts performed or to be performed; corruption of witnesses; solicitation of gifts
(a) Whoever knowingly, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly, gives, offers or promises anything of substantial value to any present or former state, county or municipal employee or to any member of the judiciary, or to any person selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary: (i) for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such an employee or member of the judiciary or person selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary; or (ii) to influence, or attempt to influence, an official action of the state, county or municipal employee or to any member of the judiciary; or
(b) Whoever knowingly, being a present or former state, county or municipal employee or member of the judiciary, or person selected to be such an employee or member of the judiciary, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly, asks, demands, exacts, solicits, seeks, accepts, receives or agrees to receive anything of substantial value: (i) for himself for or because of any official act or act within his official responsibility performed or to be performed by him; or (ii) to influence, or attempt to influence, him in an official act taken; or
(c) Whoever knowingly, directly or indirectly, gives, offers or promises anything of substantial value to any person, for or because of testimony under oath or affirmation given or to be given by such person or any other person as a witness upon a trial, hearing or other proceeding, before any court, any committee of either house or both houses of the general court, or any agency, commission or officer authorized by the laws of the commonwealth to hear evidence or take testimony or for or because of his absence therefrom; or
(d) Whoever knowingly, directly or indirectly, asks, demands, exacts, solicits, seeks, accepts, receives or agrees to receive anything of substantial value for himself for or because of the testimony under oath or affirmation given or to be given by him or any other person as a witness upon any such trial, hearing or other proceeding, or for or because of his absence therefrom; shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
(e) Clauses (c) and (d) shall not prohibit the payment or receipt of witness fees provided by law or the payment by the party upon whose behalf a witness is called and receipt by a witness of the reasonable cost of travel and subsistence incurred and the reasonable value of time lost in attendance at any such trial, hearing or proceeding, or, in the case of expert witnesses, involving a technical or professional opinion, a reasonable fee for time spent in the preparation of such opinion, in appearing or testifying.
(f) The state ethics commission shall adopt regulations: (i) defining "substantial value,"; provided, however, that "substantial value" shall not be less than $50; (ii) establishing exclusions for ceremonial gifts; (iii) establishing exclusions for gifts given solely because of family or friendship; and (iv) establishing additional exclusions for other situations that do not present a genuine risk of a conflict or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Section 4
Other compensation; offer, gift, receipt or request; acting as agent or attorney for other than state; legislators; special state employees
(a) No state employee shall otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly receive or request compensation from anyone other than the commonwealth or a state agency, in relation to any particular matter in which the commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
(b) No person shall knowingly, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly give, promise or offer such compensation.
(c) No state employee shall, otherwise than in the proper discharge of his official duties, act as agent or attorney for anyone other than the commonwealth or a state agency for prosecuting any claim against the commonwealth or a state agency, or as agent or attorney for anyone in connection with any particular matter in which the commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
Neither a member of the general court nor a member of the executive council shall be subject to paragraphs (a) or (c). However, no member of the general court or executive council shall personally appear for any compensation other than his legislative or executive council salary before any state agency, unless:
(l) the particular matter before the state agency is ministerial in nature; or
(2) the appearance is before a court of the commonwealth; or
(3) the appearance is in a quasi-judicial proceeding.
For the purposes of this paragraph, ministerial functions include, but are not limited to, the filing or amendment of: tax returns, applications for permits or licenses, incorporation papers, or other documents. For the purposes of this paragraph, a proceeding shall be considered quasi-judicial if:
(l) the action of the state agency is adjudicatory in nature; and
(2) the action of the state agency is appealable to the courts; and
(3) both sides are entitled to representation by counsel and such counsel is neither the attorney general nor the counsel for the state agency conducting the proceeding.
A special state employee shall be subject to paragraphs (a) and (c) only in relation to a particular matter (a) in which he has at any time participated as a state employee, or (b) which is or within one year has been a subject of his official responsibility, or (c) which is pending in the state agency in which he is serving. Clause (c) of the preceding sentence shall not apply in the case of a special state employee who serves on no more than sixty days during any period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days.
This section shall not prevent a state employee from taking uncompensated action, not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, to aid or assist any person who is the subject of disciplinary or other personnel administration proceedings with respect to those proceedings.
This section shall not prevent a state employee, including a special employee, from acting, with or without compensation, as agent or attorney for or otherwise aiding or assisting members of his immediate family or any person for whom he is serving as guardian, executor, administrator, trustee or other personal fiduciary except in those matters in which he has participated or which are the subject of his official responsibility; provided, that the state official responsible for appointment to his position approves.
This section shall not prevent a present or former special state employee from aiding or assisting another person for compensation in the performance of work under a contract with or for the benefit of the commonwealth; provided, that the head of the special state employee's department or agency has certified in writing that the interest of the commonwealth requires such aid or assistance and the certification has been filed with the state ethics commission.
This section shall not prevent a state employee from giving testimony under oath or making statements required to be made under penalty for perjury or contempt.
This section shall not prohibit a state employee from holding an elective or appointive office in a city, town or district, nor in any way prohibit such an employee from performing the duties of or receiving the compensation provided for such office. No such elected or appointed official may vote or act on any matter which is within the purview of the agency by which he is employed or over which such employee has official responsibility.
This section shall not prevent a state employee, other than an employee in the department of revenue, from requesting or receiving compensation from anyone other than the commonwealth in relation to the filing or amending of state tax returns.
Section 5
Former state employees; acting as attorney or receiving compensation; partners of state employees or legislators
(a) A former state employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for, or receives compensation directly or indirectly from anyone other than the commonwealth or a state agency, in connection with any particular matter in which the commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which he participated as a state employee while so employed, or
(b) a former state employee who, within one year after his last employment has ceased, appears personally before any court or agency of the commonwealth as agent or attorney for anyone other than the commonwealth in connection with any particular matter in which the commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and which was under his official responsibility as a state employee at any time within a period of two years prior to the termination of his employment, or
(b½) a former state, county or municipal employee who participated as such in general legislation on expanded gaming in the commonwealth or in the implementation, administration or enforcement of chapter 23K, and who becomes an officer or employee of, or who acquires a financial interest in, an applicant for a gaming license or a gaming licensee under said chapter 23K within one year after his last state, county or municipal employment has ceased, or
(c) a partner of a former state employee who knowingly engages, during a period of one year following the termination of the latter's employment by the commonwealth, in any activity in which the former state employee is himself prohibited from engaging in by clause (a), or
(d) a partner of a state employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for anyone other than the commonwealth in connection with any particular matter in which the commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which the state employee participates or has participated as a state employee or which is the subject of his official responsibility, or
(e) a former state employee or elected official, including a former member of the general court, who acts as legislative or executive agent, as defined in section thirty-nine of chapter three, for anyone other than the commonwealth or a state agency before the governmental body as determined by the state ethics commission with which he has been associated, within one year after he leaves that body, or
(f) a former state employee whose salary was not less than that in step one of job group M-VII in the management salary schedule in section forty-six C of chapter thirty, and who becomes an officer or employee of a business organization which is or was a party to any privatization contract as defined in section fifty-three of chapter seven in which contract he participated as such state employee, if he becomes such officer or employee while the business organization is such a party or within one year after he terminates his state employment, unless before the termination of his state employment the governor determines, in a writing filed with the state ethics commission, that such participation did not significantly affect the terms or implementation of such contract, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 1/2 years, or both.
If a partner of a member of the general court or of a special state employee or of a former state employee is also a member of another partnership in which the member of the general court or special or former employee has no interest, the activities of the latter partnership in which the member of the general court or special or former employee takes no part shall not thereby be subject to clause (c) or (d).
This section shall not prevent a present or former special state employee from aiding or assisting another person for compensation in the performance of work under a contract with or for the benefit of the commonwealth; provided, that the head of the special state employee's department or agency has certified in writing that the interest of the commonwealth requires such aid or assistance and the certification has been filed with the state ethics commission.
Section 6
Financial interest of state employee, relative or associates; disclosure
(a) Except as permitted by this section, any state employee who participates as such employee in a particular matter in which to his knowledge he, his immediate family or partner, a business organization in which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, partner or employee, or any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, has a financial interest, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 1/2 years, or both.
Any state employee whose duties would otherwise require him to participate in such a particular matter shall advise the official responsible for appointment to his position and the state ethics commission of the nature and circumstances of the particular matter and make full disclosure of such financial interest, and the appointing official shall thereupon either
(l) assign the particular matter to another employee; or
(2) assume responsibility for the particular matter; or
(3) make a written determination that the interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which the commonwealth may expect from the employee, in which case it shall not be a violation for the employee to participate in the particular matter. Copies of such written determination shall be forwarded to the state employee and filed with the state ethics commission by the person who made the determination. Such copy shall be retained by the commission for a period of six years.
Section 6A
Conflict of interest of public official; reporting requirement
Any public official, as defined by section l of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, who in the discharge of his official duties would be required knowingly to take an action which would substantially affect such official's financial interests, unless the effect on such an official is no greater than the effect on the general public, shall file a written description of the required action and the potential conflict of interest with the state ethics commission established by said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B.
Section 6B
State employment applicants; reporting requirement
Each candidate for employment as a state employee shall be required by the hiring authority as part of the application process to disclose, in writing, the names of any state employee who is related to the candidate as: spouse, parent, child or sibling or the spouse of the candidate's parent, child or sibling. The contents of a disclosure received under this section from an employee when such employee was a candidate shall be considered public records under section 7 of chapter 4 and chapter 66. All disclosures made by applicants hired by a state agency shall be made available for public inspection to the extent permissible by law by the official with whom such disclosure has been filed.
Section 7
Financial interest in contracts of state agency; application of section
A state employee who has a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a state agency, in which the commonwealth or a state agency is an interested party, of which interest he has knowledge or has reason to know, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
This section shall not apply if such financial interest consists of the ownership of less than one percent of the stock of a corporation.
This section shall not apply:
(a) to a state employee who in good faith and within thirty days after he learns of an actual or prospective violation of this section makes full disclosure of his financial interests to the contracting agency and terminates or disposes of the interest, or
(b) to a state employee other than a member of the general court who is not employed by the contracting agency or an agency which regulates the activities of the contracting agency and who does not participate in or have official responsibility for any of the activities of the contracting agency, if the contract is made after public notice or where applicable, through competitive bidding, and if the state employee files with the state ethics commission a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interests of his immediate family in the contract, and if in the case of a contract for personal services (l) the services will be provided outside the normal working hours of the state employee, (2) the services are not required as part of the state employee's regular duties, the employee is compensated for not more than five hundred hours during a calendar year, and (3) the head of the contracting agency makes and files with the state ethics commission a written certification that no employee of that agency is available to perform those services as a part of their regular duties,
(c) to the interest of a member of the general court in a contract made by an agency other than the general court or either branch thereof, if his direct and indirect interests and those of his immediate family in the corporation or other commercial entity with which the contract is made do not in the aggregate amount to ten percent of the total proprietary interests therein, and the contract is made through competitive bidding and he files with the state ethics commission a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interests of his immediate family,
(d) to a special state employee who does not participate in or have official responsibility for any of the activities of the contracting agency and who files with the state ethics commission a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interest of his immediate family in the contract, or
(e) to a special state employee who files with the state ethics commission a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interests of his immediate family in the contract, if the governor with the advice and consent of the executive council exempts him.
This section shall not apply to a state employee who provides services or furnishes supplies, goods and materials to a recipient of public assistance, provided that such services or such supplies, goods and materials are provided in accordance with a schedule of charges promulgated by the department of transitional assistance or the division of health care policy and finance and provided, further, that such recipient has the right under law to choose and in fact does choose the person or firm that will provide such services or furnish such supplies, goods and materials.
This section shall not prohibit a state employee from teaching or performing other related duties in an educational institution of the commonwealth; provided, that such employee does not participate in, or have official responsibility for, the financial management of such educational institution; and provided, further, that such employee is so employed on a part-time basis. Such employee may be compensated for such services, notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-one of chapter thirty.
This section shall not prohibit a state employee from being employed on a part-time basis by a facility operated or designed for the care of mentally ill or mentally retarded persons, public health, correctional facility or any other facility principally funded by the state which provides similar services and which operates on an uninterrupted and continuous basis; provided that such employee does not participate in, or have official responsibility for, the financial management of such facility, that he is compensated for such part-time employment for not more than four hours in any day in which he is otherwise compensated by the commonwealth, and at a rate which does not exceed that of a state employee classified in step one of job group XX of the general salary schedule contained in section forty-six of chapter thirty, and that the head of the facility makes and files with the state ethics commission a written certification that there is a critical need for the services of the employee. Such employee may be compensated for such services, notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-one of chapter thirty.
This section shall not preclude an officer or employee of the Massachusetts Port Authority from eligibility for any residential sound insulation program administered by said Authority, provided that any such officer or employee has no responsibility for the administration of said program.
Pursuant to Chapter 264 of the Acts of 2010, section 7 of chapter 268A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 78 and 79, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, the words "administered by said Authority, provided that any such officer has no financial responsibility for the administration of said program" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- or the bayswater environmental program provided that the officer or employee has no responsibility for the administration for that program from which he is to receive the benefit. (Effective November 7, 2010).
Section 8
Public building or construction contracts
No state, county or municipal employee and no person acting or purporting to act on behalf of such employee, or any state, county or municipal agency, shall with respect to any public building or construction contract which is about to be or which has been competitively bid, require the bidder to make application to or furnish financial data to, or to obtain, or procure, any of the surety bonds or insurance specified in connection with such contract or specified by any law from any particular insurance or surety company, agent, or broker. This section shall not prevent the exercise by such employee on behalf of a state, county, or municipal agency of its right to approve the form, sufficiency, or manner of execution of the surety bonds and insurance furnished by the insurance or surety company selected by the bidder to underwrite said insurance and bonds. Any provisions in any invitation for bids, or in any of the contract documents, in conflict with this section are hereby declared to be contrary to the public policy of this commonwealth. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
Section 8A
Members of state commissions or boards; prohibited appointments to other positions
No member of a state commission or board shall be eligible for appointment or election by the members of such commission or board to any office or position under the supervision of such commission or board. No former member of such commission or board shall be so eligible until the expiration of thirty days from the termination of his service as a member of such commission or board.
Section 8B
Members of department of telecommunications and energy commission; prohibited lobbying activities
No member of the department of telecommunications and energy commission, appointed pursuant to section 2 of chapter 25, shall, within one year after his service has ceased or terminated on said commission, be employed by, or lobby said commission on behalf of, any company or regulated industry over which said commission had jurisdiction during the tenure of such member of the commission.
Section 9
Avoiding, rescinding or canceling state agency actions resulting from violations of chapter; restitution and damages
(a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, any violation of sections 2 to 8, inclusive, or section 23 which has substantially influenced the action taken by any state agency in any particular matter, shall be grounds for avoiding, rescinding or canceling the action on such terms as the interests of the commonwealth and innocent third persons shall require.
(b) In addition to the remedies set forth in subsection (a), the state ethics commission upon a finding pursuant to an adjudicatory proceeding that a person has acted to his economic advantage in violation of sections 2 to 8, inclusive, or section 23, may issue an order: (1) requiring the violator to pay the commission on behalf of the commonwealth damages in the amount of the economic advantage or $500, whichever is greater; and (2) requiring the violator to make restitution to an injured third party. If there has been no final criminal judgment of conviction or acquittal of the same violation, upon receipt of the written approval of the attorney general, the commission may order payment of additional damages in an amount not exceeding twice the amount of the economic advantage or $500, and payment of such additional damages shall bar any criminal prosecution for the same violation.
The maximum damages that the commission may order a violator to pay under this section shall be $25,000. If the commission determines that the damages authorized by this section exceed $25,000, it may bring a civil action against the violator to recover such damages.
(c) The remedies authorized by this section shall be in addition to any civil penalty imposed by the state ethics commission in accordance with clause (3) of subsection (j) of section 4 of chapter 268B.
Section 10
Opinions of state ethics commission
The state ethics commission shall issue opinions interpreting the requirements of this chapter in accordance with clause (g) of section three of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B.
Section 11
County employees; receiving or requesting compensation from, or acting as agent or attorney for other than county agency
Section 11. (a) No county employee shall, otherwise than as provided for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly receive or request compensation from anyone other than a county or a county agency in relation to any particular matter in which a county agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
(b) No person shall knowingly, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly give, promise or offer such compensation.
(c) No county employee shall, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, act as agent or attorney for anyone other than a county or a county agency in prosecuting any claim against a county or county agency, or as agent or attorney for anyone in connection with any particular matter in which a county or county agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
A county employee shall be subject to paragraphs (a) and (c) only in relation to the county of which he is an employee. A special county employee shall be subject to said paragraphs (a) and (c)only in relation to a particular matter (a) in which he has at any time participated as a county employee, or (b) which is or within one year has been a subject of his official responsibility, or (c) which is pending in the county agency in which he is serving. Clause (c) of the preceding sentence shall not apply in the case of a county employee who serves on no more than sixty days during any period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days.
This section shall not prevent a county employee from taking uncompensated action, not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, to aid or assist any person who is the subject of disciplinary or other personnel administration proceedings with respect to those proceedings.
This section shall not prevent a county employee, including a special employee, from acting, with or without compensation, as agent or attorney for or otherwise aiding or assisting members of his immediate family or any person for whom he is serving as guardian, executor, administrator, trustee or other personal fiduciary except in those matters in which he has participated or which are the subject of his official responsibility; provided, that the state or county official responsible for appointment to his position approves.
This section shall not prevent a present or former special county employee from aiding or assisting another person for compensation in the performance of work under a contract with or for the benefit of the county; provided, that the head of the special county employee's department or agency has certified in writing that the interest of the county requires such aid or assistance and the certification has been filed with the state ethics commission. The certification shall be open to public inspection.
This section shall not prevent a county employee from giving testimony under oath or making statements required to be made under penalty for perjury or contempt.
This section shall not prohibit a county employee from holding an elective or appointive office in a city, town or district nor in any way prohibit such an employee from performing the duties or receiving the compensation provided for such office. No such elected or appointed official may vote or act on any matter which is within the purview of the agency by which he is employed or over which such employee has official responsibility.
Section 12
Former county employees; acting as attorney or receiving compensation from other than county; partners of employees or former employees or legislators
(a) A former county employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for or receives compensation directly or indirectly from anyone other than a county or a county agency in connection with any particular matter in which the county or a county agency of the same county is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which he participated as a county employee while so employed, or
(b) a former county employee who, within one year after his last employment has ceased, appears personally before any agency of the county as agent or attorney for anyone other than the county in connection with any particular matter in which the county or a county agency of the same county is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and which was under his official responsibility as a county employee at any time within a period of two years prior to the termination of his employment, or
(c) a partner of a former county employee who knowingly engages, during a period of one year following the termination of the latter's employment by the county, in any activity in which the former county employee is himself prohibited from engaging by clause (a), or
(d) a partner of a county employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for anyone other than the county in connection with any particular matter in which the county or a county agency of the same county is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which the county employee participates or has participated as a county employee or which is the subject of his official responsibility, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
If a partner of a special county employee or of a former county employee is also a member of another partnership in which the special or former employee has no interest, activities of the latter partnership in which the special or former employee takes no part shall not thereby be subject to clause (c) or (d).
This section shall not prevent a present or former special county employee from aiding or assisting another person for compensation in the performance of work under a contract with or for the benefit of the county; provided, that the head of the special county employee's department or agency has certified in writing that the interest of the county requires such aid or assistance and the certification has been filed with the state ethics commission. The certification shall be open to public inspection.
Section 13
Financial interest of county employee, relatives or associates; disclosure
(a) Except as permitted by paragraph (b), a county employee who participates as such an employee in a particular matter in which to his knowledge he, his immediate family or partner, a business organization which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, partner or employee, or any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, has a financial interest, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
(b) Any county employee whose duties would otherwise require him to participate in such a particular matter shall advise the official responsible for appointment to his position and the state ethics commission of the nature and circumstances of the particular matter and make full disclosure of such financial interest, and the appointing official shall thereupon either
(l) assign the particular matter to another employee; or
(2) assume responsibility for the particular matter; or
(3) make a written determination that the interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which the county may expect from the employee, in which case it shall not be a violation for the employee to participate in the particular matter. Copies of such written determination shall be forwarded to the county employee and filed with the state ethics commission by the person who made the determination. Such copy shall be retained by the commission for a period of six years.
Section 14
County employees; financial interest in contracts of county agency
A county employee who has a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a county agency of the same county, in which the county or a county agency is an interested party of which financial interest he has knowledge or has reason to know, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
This section shall not apply if such financial interest consists of the ownership of less than one percent of the stock of a corporation.
This section shall not apply
(a) to a county employee who in good faith and within thirty days after he learns of an actual or prospective violation of this section makes full disclosure of his financial interest to the contracting agency and terminates or disposes of the interest, or
(b) to a county employee who does not participate in or have official responsibility for any of the activities of the contracting agency, if the contract is made through competitive bidding and his direct and indirect interests and those of his immediate family in the corporation or other commercial entity with which the contract is made do not in the aggregate amount to ten percent of the total proprietary interests therein, or
(c) to a special county employee who does not participate in or have official responsibility for any of the activities of the contracting agency and who files with the state ethics commission a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interests of his immediate family in the contract, if the county commissioners approve the exemption of his interest from this section.
Section 15
(a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, any violation of section 2, 3, 8, or sections 11 to 14, inclusive, or section 23 which has substantially influenced the action taken by any county agency in any particular matter, shall be grounds for avoiding, rescinding or canceling the action on such terms as the interests of the county and innocent third persons shall require.
(b) In addition to the remedies set forth in subsection (a), the commission may, upon a finding pursuant to an adjudicatory proceeding that a person has acted to his economic advantage in violation of section 2, 3, 8, sections 11 to 14, inclusive, or section 23, issue an order (1) requiring the violator to pay the commission on behalf of the county damages in the amount of the economic advantage or $500, whichever is greater; and (2) requiring the violator to make restitution to an injured third party. If there has been no final criminal judgment of conviction or acquittal of the same violation, upon receipt of the written approval of the attorney general and the district attorney, the commission may order payment of additional damages in an amount not exceeding twice the amount of the economic advantage or $500, and payment of such additional damages shall bar any criminal prosecution for the same violation.
The maximum damages that the commission may order a violator to pay under this section shall be $25,000. If the commission determines that the damages authorized by this section exceed $25,000, it may bring a civil action against the violator to recover such damages.
(c) The remedies authorized by this section shall be in addition to any civil penalty imposed by the commission in accordance with clause (3) of subsection (j) of section 4 of chapter 268B.
Section 15A
Members of county commission or board; restrictions on appointments to certain positions
No member of a county commission or board shall be eligible for appointment or election by the members of such commission or board to any office or position under the supervision of such commission or board. No former member of such commission or board shall be so eligible until the expiration of thirty days from the termination of his service as a member of such commission or board.
Section 16
Repealed, 1978, 210 Sec. 19
Section 17
Municipal employees; gift or receipt of compensation from other than municipality; acting as agent or attorney
(a) No municipal employee shall, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly receive or request compensation from anyone other than the city or town or municipal agency in relation to any particular matter in which the same city or town is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
(b) No person shall knowingly, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly give, promise or offer such compensation.
(c) No municipal employee shall, otherwise than in the proper discharge of his official duties, act as agent or attorney for anyone other than the city or town or municipal agency in prosecuting any claim against the same city or town, or as agent or attorney for anyone in connection with any particular matter in which the same city or town is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
A special municipal employee shall be subject to paragraphs (a) and (c) only in relation to a particular matter (a) in which he has at any time participated as a municipal employee, or (b) which is or within one year has been a subject of his official responsibility, or (c) which is pending in the municipal agency in which he is serving. Clause (c) of the preceding sentence shall not apply in the case of a special municipal employee who serves on no more than sixty days during any period of three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days.
This section shall not prevent a municipal employee from taking uncompensated action, not inconsistent with the faithful performance of his duties, to aid or assist any person who is the subject of disciplinary or other personnel administration proceedings with respect to those proceedings.
This section shall not prevent a municipal employee, including a special employee, from acting, with or without compensation, as agent or attorney for or otherwise aiding or assisting members of his immediate family or any person for whom he is serving as guardian, executor, administrator, trustee or other personal fiduciary except in those matters in which he has participated or which are the subject of his official responsibility; provided, that the official responsible for appointment to his position approves.
This section shall not prevent a present or former special municipal employee from aiding or assisting another person for compensation in the performance of work under a contract with or for the benefit of the city or town; provided, that the head of the special municipal employee's department or agency has certified in writing that the interest of the city or town requires such aid or assistance and the certification has been filed with the clerk of the city or town. The certification shall be open to public inspection.
This section shall not prevent a municipal employee from giving testimony under oath or making statements required to be made under penalty for perjury or contempt.
This section shall not prevent a municipal employee from applying on behalf of anyone for a building, electrical, wiring, plumbing, gas fitting or septic system permit, nor from receiving compensation in relation to any such permit, unless such employee is employed by or provides services to the permit-granting agency or an agency that regulates the activities of the permit-granting agency.
Section 18
Former municipal employee; acting as attorney or receiving compensation; from other than municipality; partners
(a) A former municipal employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for or receives compensation, directly or indirectly from anyone other than the same city or town in connection with any particular matter in which the city or town is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which he participated as a municipal employee while so employed, or
(b) a former municipal employee who, within one year after his last employment has ceased, appears personally before any agency of the city or town as agent or attorney for anyone other than the city or town in connection with any particular matter in which the same city or town is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and which was under his official responsibility as a municipal employee at any time within a period of two years prior to the termination of his employment, or
(c) a partner of a former municipal employee who knowingly engages, during a period of one year following the termination of the latter's employment by the city or town, in any activity in which the former municipal employee is himself prohibited from engaging by clause (a), or
(d) a partner of a municipal employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for anyone other than the city or town in connection with any particular matter in which the same city or town is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which the municipal employee participates or has participated as a municipal employee or which is the subject of his official responsibility, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
If a partner of a former municipal employee or of a special municipal employee is also a member of another partnership in which the former or special employee has no interest, the activities of the latter partnership in which the former or special employee takes no part shall not thereby be subject to clause (c) or (d).
Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (b), a former town counsel who acted in such capacity on a salary or retainer of less than two thousand dollars per year shall be prohibited from appearing personally before any agency of the city or town as agent or attorney for anyone other than the city or town only in connection with any particular matter in which the same city or town is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which he participated while so employed.
This section shall not prevent a present or former special municipal employee from aiding or assisting another person for compensation in the performance of work under a contract with or for the benefit of the city or town; provided that the head of the special municipal employee's department or agency has certified in writing that the interest of the city or town requires such aid or assistance and the certification has been filed with the clerk of the city or town. The certification shall be open to public inspection.
Section 19
Municipal employees, relatives or associates; financial interest in particular matter
(a) Except as permitted by paragraph (b), a municipal employee who participates as such an employee in a particular matter in which to his knowledge he, his immediate family or partner, a business organization in which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, partner or employee, or any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, has a financial interest, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
(b) It shall not be a violation of this section:
(l) if the municipal employee first advises the official responsible for appointment to his position of the nature and circumstances of the particular matter and makes full disclosure of such financial interest, and receives in advance a written determination made by that official that the interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which the municipality may expect from the employee, or
(2) if, in the case of an elected municipal official making demand bank deposits of municipal funds, said official first files with the clerk of the city or town, a statement making full disclosure of such financial interest, or
(3) if the particular matter involves a determination of general policy and the interest of the municipal employee or members of his immediate family is shared with a substantial segment of the population of the municipality.
Section 20
Municipal employees; financial interest in contracts; holding one or more elected positions
(a) A municipal employee who has a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a municipal agency of the same city or town, in which the city or town is an interested party of which financial interest he has knowledge or has reason to know, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both.
This section shall not apply if such financial interest consists of the ownership of less than one percent of the stock of a corporation.
This section shall not apply:
(a) to a municipal employee who in good faith and within thirty days after he learns of an actual or prospective violation of this section makes full disclosure of his financial interest to the contracting agency and terminates or disposes of the interest, or
(b) to a municipal employee who is not employed by the contracting agency or an agency which regulates the activities of the contracting agency and who does not participate in or have official responsibility for any of the activities of the contracting agency, if the contract is made after public notice or where applicable, through competitive bidding, and if the municipal employee files with the clerk of the city or town a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interest of his immediate family, and if in the case of a contract for personal services
(l) the services will be provided outside the normal working hours of the municipal employee,
(2) the services are not required as part of the municipal employee's regular duties, the employee is compensated for not more than five hundred hours during a calendar year,
(3) the head of the contracting agency makes and files with the clerk of the city or town a written certification that no employee of that agency is available to perform those services as part of their regular duties, and
(4) the city council, board of selectmen or board of aldermen approve the exemption of his interest from this section, or
(c) to a special municipal employee who does not participate in or have official responsibility for any of the activities of the contracting agency and who files with the clerk of the city or town a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interests of his immediate family in the contract, or
(d) to a special municipal employee who files with the clerk of the city, town or district a statement making full disclosure of his interest and the interests of his immediate family in the contract, if the city council or board of aldermen, if there is no city council, board of selectmen or the district prudential committee, approve the exemption of his interest from this section, or
(e) to a municipal employee who receives benefits from programs funded by the United States or any other source in connection with the rental, improvement, or rehabilitation of his residence to the extent permitted by the funding agency, or
(f) to a municipal employee if the contract is for personal services in a part time, call or volunteer capacity with the police, fire, rescue or ambulance department of a fire district, town or any city with a population of less than thirty-five thousand inhabitants; provided, however, that the head of the contracting agency makes and files with the clerk of the city, district or town a written certification that no employee of said agency is available to perform such services as part of his regular duties, and the city council, board of selectmen, board of aldermen or district prudential committee approve the exemption of his interest from this section or
(g) to a municipal employee who has applied in the usual course and is otherwise eligible for a housing subsidy program administered by a local housing authority, unless the employee is employed by the local housing authority in a capacity in which he has responsibility for the administration of such subsidy programs, or
(h) to a municipal employee who is the owner of residential rental property and rents such property to a tenant receiving a rental subsidy administered by a local housing authority, unless such employee is employed by such local housing authority in a capacity in which he has responsibility for the administration of such subsidy programs.
This section shall not prohibit an employee or an official of a town from holding the position of selectman in such town nor in any way prohibit such an employee from performing the duties of or receiving the compensation provided for such office; provided, however, that such selectman shall not, except as hereinafter provided, receive compensation for more than one office or position held in a town, but shall have the right to choose which compensation he shall receive; provided, further, that no such selectman may vote or act on any matter which is within the purview of the agency by which he is employed or over which he has official responsibility; and, provided further, that no such selectman shall be eligible for appointment to any such additional position while he is still a member of the board of selectmen or for six months thereafter. Any violation of the provisions of this paragraph which has substantially influenced the action taken by any municipal agency in any matter shall be grounds for avoiding, rescinding or cancelling the action on such terms as the interest of the municipality and innocent third parties may require.
This section shall not prohibit any elected official in a town, whether compensated or uncompensated for such elected position, from holding one or more additional elected positions, in such town, whether such additional elected positions are compensated or uncompensated.
This section shall not prohibit an employee of a municipality with a city or town council form of government from holding the elected office of councillor in such municipality, nor in any way prohibit such an employee from performing the duties of or receiving the compensation provided for such office; provided, however, that no such councillor may vote or act on any matter which is within the purview of the agency by which he is employed or over which he has official responsibility; and provided, further, that no councillor shall be eligible for appointment to such additional position while a member of said council or for six months thereafter. Any violation of the provisions of this paragraph which has substantially influenced the action taken by a municipal agency in any matter shall be grounds for avoiding, rescinding or cancelling such action on such terms as the interest of the municipality and innocent third parties require. No such elected councillor shall receive compensation for more than one office or position held in a municipality, but shall have the right to choose which compensation he shall receive.
This section shall not prohibit an employee of a housing authority in a municipality from holding any elective office, other than the office of mayor, in such municipality nor in any way prohibit such employee from performing the duties of or receiving the compensation provided for such office; provided, however, that such elected officer shall not, except as otherwise expressly provided, receive compensation for more than one office or position held in a municipality, but shall have the right to choose which compensation he shall receive; provided further that no such elected official may vote or act on any matter which is within the purview of the housing authority by which he is employed; and provided further that no such elected official shall be eligible for appointment to any such additional position while he is still serving in such elective office or for six months thereafter. Any violation of the provisions of this paragraph which has substantially influenced the action taken by the housing authority in any matter shall be grounds for avoiding, rescinding, or cancelling the action on such terms as the interest of the municipality and innocent third parties may require.
This section shall not prohibit an employee in a town having a population of less than three thousand five hundred persons from holding more than one appointed position with said town, provided that the board of selectmen approves the exemption of his interest from this section.
Section 21
Avoiding, rescinding or canceling municipal action resulting from violations of chapter; restitution and damages
(a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a finding by the commission pursuant to an adjudicatory proceeding that there has been any violation of sections 2, 3, 8, 17 to 20, inclusive, or section 23, which has substantially influenced the action taken by any municipal agency in any particular matter, shall be grounds for avoiding, rescinding or canceling the action of said municipal agency upon request by said municipal agency on such terms as the interests of the municipality and innocent third persons shall require.
(b) In addition to the remedies set forth in subsection (a), the commission may, upon a finding pursuant to an adjudicatory proceeding that a person has acted to his economic advantage in violation of sections 2, 3, 8, 17 to 20, inclusive, or section 23, may issue an order (1) requiring the violator to pay the commission on behalf of the municipality damages in the amount of the economic advantage or $500, whichever is greater; and (2) requiring the violator to make restitution to an injured third party. If there has been no final criminal judgment of conviction or acquittal of the same violation, upon receipt of the written approval of the district attorney, the commission may order payment of additional damages in an amount not exceeding twice the amount of the economic advantage or $500, and payment of such additional damages shall bar any criminal prosecution for the same violation. The maximum damages that the commission may order a violator to pay under this section shall be $25,000. If the commission determines that the damages authorized by this section exceed $25,000, it may bring a civil action against the violator to recover such damages.
(c) The remedies authorized by this section shall be in addition to any civil penalty imposed by the commission in accordance with clause (3) of subsection (j) of section 4 of chapter 268B.
Section 21A
Members of municipal commission or board; restrictions on appointments to certain positions
Except as hereinafter provided, no member of a municipal commission or board shall be eligible for appointment or election by the members of such commission or board to any office or position under the supervision of such commission or board. No former member of such commission or board shall be so eligible until the expiration of thirty days from the termination of his service as a member of such commission or board.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a member of a town commission or board, if such appointment or election has first been approved at an annual town meeting of the town.
Section 21B
Prospective municipal appointees; demanding undated resignations prohibited
No mayor, city manager, or town manager shall require a prospective appointee to a board, commission or position under his jurisdiction to submit as a condition precedent to said appointment an undated resignation from said board, commission or position. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.
Section 22
Opinions of corporation counsel, city solicitor or town counsel
Any municipal employee shall be entitled to the opinion of the corporation counsel, city solicitor or town counsel upon any question arising under this chapter relating to the duties, responsibilities and interests of such employee. All requests for such opinions by a subordinate municipal employee shall be made in confidence directly to the chief officer of the municipal agency in which he is employed, who shall in turn request in confidence such opinion of the corporation counsel, city solicitor or town counsel on behalf of such subordinate municipal employee, and all constitutional officers and chief officers or heads of municipal agencies may make direct confidential requests for such opinions on their own account. The town counsel or city solicitor shall file such opinion in writing with the city or town clerk and such opinion shall be a matter of public record; however, no opinion will be rendered by the town counsel or city solicitor except upon the submission of detailed existing facts which raise a question of actual or prospective violation of any provision of this chapter.
Section 23
Supplemental provisions; standards of conduct
(a) In addition to the other provisions of this chapter, and in supplement thereto, standards of conduct, as hereinafter set forth, are hereby established for all state, county and municipal employees.
(b) No current officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know:
(1) accept other employment involving compensation of substantial value, the responsibilities of which are inherently incompatible with the responsibilities of his public office;
(2) (i) solicit or receive anything of substantial value for such officer or employee, which is not otherwise authorized by statute or regulation, for or because of the officer or employee's official position; or (ii) use or attempt to use such official position to secure for such officer, employee or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals;
(3) act in a manner which would cause a reasonable person, having knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to conclude that any person can improperly influence or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties, or that he is likely to act or fail to act as a result of kinship, rank, position or undue influence of any party or person. It shall be unreasonable to so conclude if such officer or employee has disclosed in writing to his appointing authority or, if no appointing authority exists, discloses in a manner which is public in nature, the facts which would otherwise lead to such a conclusion; or
(4) present a false or fraudulent claim to his employer for any payment or benefit of substantial value.
(c) No current or former officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know:
(1) accept employment or engage in any business or professional activity which will require him to disclose confidential information which he has gained by reason of his official position or authority;
(2) improperly disclose material or data within the exemptions to the definition of public records as defined by section seven of chapter four, and were acquired by him in the course of his official duties nor use such information to further his personal interest.
(d) Any activity specifically exempted from any of the prohibitions in any other section of this chapter shall also be exempt from the provisions of this section. The state ethics commission, established by chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, shall not enforce the provisions of this section with respect to any such exempted activity.
(e) Where a current employee is found to have violated the provisions of this section, appropriate administrative action as is warranted may also be taken by the appropriate constitutional officer, by the head of a state, county or municipal agency. Nothing in this section shall preclude any such constitutional officer or head of such agency from establishing and enforcing additional standards of conduct.
(f) The state ethics commission shall adopt regulations: (i) defining substantial value; provided, however, that substantial value shall not be less than $50; (ii) establishing exclusions for ceremonial privileges and exemptions; (iii) establishing exclusions for privileges and exemptions given solely because of family or friendship; and (iv) establishing additional exclusions for other situations that do not present a genuine risk of a conflict or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Section 23A
Trustees of public institutions of higher learning; prohibited positions
No trustee of any public institution of higher education operated by the commonwealth shall be eligible to be appointed to or hold any other office or position with said institution for a period of three years next after the termination of his services as such trustee, or in the case of an elected student trustee at said institution, for a period of one year next after the termination of his services as such trustee; provided, however, that any such elected student trustee may accept and hold part-time employment at said institution while a student thereat, and provided further, that a trustee may be appointed to or hold an unpaid office or position with said institution after his services as such trustee.
Section 24
Disclosure and certifications; form; public inspection
All disclosures and certifications provided for in this chapter and made in accordance with its provisions shall be made in writing and, unless otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, shall be kept open to inspection by the public by the official with whom such disclosure has been filed.
Section 25
Suspension of persons under indictment for misconduct in office; notice; compensation and fringe benefits; temporary replacements; reinstatement
An officer or employee of a county, city, town or district, howsoever formed, including, but not limited to, regional school districts and regional planning districts, or of any department, board, commission or agency thereof may, during any period such officer or employee is under indictment for misconduct in such office or employment or for misconduct in any elective or appointive public office, trust or employment at any time held by him, be suspended by the appointing authority, whether or not such appointment was subject to approval in any manner. Notice of said suspension shall be given in writing and delivered in hand to said person or his attorney, or sent by registered mail to said person at his residence, his place of business, or the office or place of employment from which he is being suspended. Such notice so given and delivered or sent shall automatically suspend the authority of such person to perform the duties of his office or employment until he is notified in like manner that his suspension is removed. A copy of any such notice together with an affidavit of service shall be filed as follows: in the case of a county, with the clerk of the Superior Court of the county in which the officer or employee is employed; in the case of a city, with the city clerk; in the case of a town, with the town clerk; in the case of a regional school district, with the secretary of the regional school district; and in the case of all other districts, with the clerk of the district.
Any person so suspended shall not receive any compensation or salary during the period of suspension, nor shall the period of his suspension be counted in computing his sick leave or vacation benefits or seniority rights, nor shall any person who retires from service while under such suspension be entitled to any pension or retirement benefits, notwithstanding any contrary provisions of law, but all contributions paid by him into a retirement fund, if any, shall be returned to him.
A suspension under this section shall not, in any way, be used to prejudice the rights of the suspended person either civilly or criminally. During the period of any such suspension, the appointing authority may fill the position of the suspended officer or employee on a temporary basis, and the temporary officer or employee shall have all the powers and duties of the officer or employee suspended.
Any such temporary officer or employee who is appointed as a member of a board, commission or agency may be designated as chairman.
If the criminal proceedings against the persons suspended are terminated without a finding or verdict of guilty on any of the charges on which he was indicted, this suspension shall be forthwith removed, and he shall receive all compensation or salary due him for the period of his suspension, and the time of his suspension shall count in determining sick leave, vacation, seniority and other rights, and shall be counted as creditable service for purposes of retirement.
Section 26
(a) Any person who, directly or through another, with fraudulent intent, violates clause (2) or (4) of subsection (b) of section 23, or any person who, with fraudulent intent, causes any other person to violate said clauses (2) or (4) of said subsection (b) of said section 23 or with fraudulent intent offers or gives any privileges or exemptions of substantial value in violation of said clause (2) or (4) of said subsection (b) of said section 23, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both, if the unwarranted privileges or exemptions have a fair market value in the aggregate of more than $1,000 in any 12 month period.
Section 27
The commission shall prepare, and update as necessary, summaries of this chapter for state, county, and municipal employees, respectively, which the commission shall publish on its official website. Every state, county and municipal employee shall, within 30 days of becoming such an employee, and on an annual basis thereafter, be furnished with a summary of this chapter prepared by the commission and sign a written acknowledgment that he has been provided with such a summary. Municipal employees shall be furnished with the summary by, and file an acknowledgment with, the city or town clerk. Appointed state and county employees shall be furnished with the summary by, and file an acknowledgment with, the employee's appointing authority or his designee. Elected state and county employees shall be furnished with the summary by, and file an acknowledgment with, the commission. The commission shall establish procedures for implementing this section and ensuring compliance.
Section 28
The state ethics commission shall prepare and update from time to time the following online training programs, which the commission shall publish on its official website: (1) a program which shall provide a general introduction to the requirements of this chapter; and (2) a program which shall provide information on the requirements of this chapter applicable to former state, county, and municipal employees. Every state, county and municipal employee shall, within 30 days after becoming such an employee, and every 2 years thereafter, complete the online training program. Upon completion of the online training program, the employee shall provide notice of such completion to be retained for 6 years by the appropriate employer.
The commission shall establish procedures for implementing this section and ensuring compliance.
Section 29
Each municipality, acting through its city council, board of selectmen, or board of aldermen, shall designate a senior level employee of the municipality as its liaison to the state ethics commission. The municipality shall notify the commission in writing of any change to such designation within 30 days of such change. The commission shall disseminate information to the designated liaisons and conduct educational seminars for designated liaisons on a regular basis on a schedule to be determined by the commission in consultation with the municipalities.