PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Vice Chair Thomas A. Connors chaired the meeting and called it to order at 9:35 a.m. Also in attendance were Chair Margot Botsford, Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., and Commissioner Eron Hackshaw. Chair Botsford and Commissioner Hackshaw participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Vice Chair Connors announced that the meeting would take place in-person with remote access provided to the public pursuant to the law signed by Governor Healey on March 29, 2023. Vice Chair Connors noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Commissioner Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Hackshaw, the Commission voted 4-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the December 19, 2024 Commission meeting.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Vice Chair Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Budget
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Commission’s budget. He noted that the Governor was expected to file her Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal, H. 1, later that day. Mr. Wilson stated that the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request workbooks would soon be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means. He reported that he and Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough would begin meeting with members of the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, starting January 23rd, to advocate for the Commission’s full Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. Mr. Wilson said that he will subsequently provide testimony to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, as he does each year, in support of the Commission’s budget request.
Ongoing Projects
Mr. Wilson stated that, although the proposed new project for the replacement of the Commission’s existing SFI filing system was not selected by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security to proceed to the Fiscal Year 2026 Phase 2 capital funding round, Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca and Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough sought and obtained the opportunity to present the Commission’s case for $1.2 million in immediate capital funding to the state Information Technology Investment Advisory Board. He reported that, due to their well-received presentation on December 18th, the Commission is receiving funding for the new project for the current fiscal year. Ms. Duca explained that, without a new SFI filing system, all filers would have to file their SFI manually, which would result in substantial administrative work for the SFI Team. Ms. McCullough noted that Director of Capital Planning Kevin Ennis, who chairs the Information Technology Investment Advisory Board, was instrumental in providing the opportunity for the Commission to present its case. Mr. Wilson commended Ms. Duca and Ms. McCullough for their energy and imagination in carrying the project forward.
New Commissioner
Mr. Wilson reported that he has been in contact with the Governor’s Boards and Commissions Office, who said that they are actively working on the appointments of new commissioners to succeed Vice Chair Martinez and Commissioner Edwards.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meetings are scheduled for February 24, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. and March 20, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented his memorandum reporting the Public Education and Communications Division’s activities during December 2024.
Mr. Giannotti reported that he conducted three 90-minute public education seminars in November attended by 193 public employees. He further reported that over 80 public employees had so far registered for the in-house seminar scheduled for February 6, 2025.
Mr. Giannotti provided an update on the online conflict of interest law training platform. He reported that he, Senior Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti, and Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia responded to 555 calls and e-mails regarding the online learning platform in December, a significant increase from prior months largely due to the system rollover to the 2025 education compliance period and automated reminder emails being sent to all registered users with past due courses or approaching deadlines. He further reported that over 300,000 users have registered to use the online learning platform since its launch on January 12, 2023, and approximately 75,000 courses have already been completed since the system rollover.
Mr. Giannotti provided an update on the Legal Case Management System project. He reported that the launch of the new system has been delayed by one week due to some lingering technical issues. Mr. Giannotti noted that the transition from the legacy Ethos system to the new Legal Case Management system is now scheduled for January 24, 2025, and the launch of the new application is now scheduled for January 28, 2025.
At Mr. Giannotti’s request, Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia provided an update on the Commission’s use of social media. Mr. Xia said that the monthly memorandum will now include the number of total followers, new followers, impressions, and page views of the Commission’s LinkedIn page. He reported that the Commission has increased its number of LinkedIn followers to 574, a 120% increase from the 361 followers as reported in November 2024. Mr. Xia thanked Ms. McCullough, Mr. Tuoti, Special Assistant to Administration and SFI Rose Costa, and Special Investigator Jean Perry for helping to grow the number followers of the Commission’s LinkedIn page. He further reported that the Commission’s LinkedIn page now has more followers than the LinkedIn page of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and is on track to surpass the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws’ LinkedIn page later this year.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Legal Division Metrics for December 2024
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for December 2024.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 55 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 11 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| December 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 55/13 |
| November 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 51/4 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 301 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 7 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| December 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 337/19 |
| November 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 254/1 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 1 letter issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| December 2023 (same month prior year): | 1 |
| November 2024 (previous month): | 2 |
- Backlog. As of January 16, 2025, the Division has 3 pending requests for written advice that is more than 30 days old. There are a total of 19 pending requests for written advice.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the January/February calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery provided an update on litigation matters. She noted that, in Commonwealth v. Spaulding, Supreme Judicial Court Docket No. SJC-13615, the Commission is currently awaiting a decision by the Court, where the Legal Division filed on behalf of the Commission an amicus letter on the meaning of “unwarranted privileges” in G.L. c. 268A, § 23(b)(2)(ii).
SFI Report
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests (SFI) for Calendar Year 2024. Ms. Duca explained that the SFI system could not be opened until all the Designation Lists were received and reported that the last one was submitted on January 21, 2025. She noted that the opening of the Calendar Year 2024 filing season was initially scheduled for January 23, 2025 but had been postponed to avoid coinciding with the launch of the new Legal Case Management system. Ms. Duca said that the SFI system may have either a soft opening on January 24, 2025 by sending e-mail notifications to all filers with a valid e-mail address in the SFI system, and then posting an announcement on the Commission’s website about the opening along with the manual form the following Monday or on or both events would occur on January 27, 2025. She reported that the SFI Team handled a total of 90 phone calls, emails, and walk-ins for SFI assistance in December.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Case Metrics and Enforcement Intake Metrics for December. Ms. Brookman reported that, while the number of complaints received had decreased in December, the Enforcement Division is still working through the increased number of complaints from August through November 2024. She further reported that, due to the previous complaint volume, the complaint backlog increased from 16 to 33 complaints in December.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:03 a.m., on the motion of Vice Chair Connors, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 4-0 to enter executive session to discuss matters subject to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A, § 21, subparagraph (a)(7), and § 18, and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 3 and 4, including investigatory matters, preliminary inquiries, summons authorization requests, and adjudicatory matters.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Vice Chair Connors | Yes |
Vice Chair Connors stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of January 22, 2025
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of December 19, 2024, Public Session
- Memorandum, dated January 15, 2025, from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in December 2024
- Memorandum, dated January 16, 2025, from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the meeting
- Calendar of hearing dates and pre-hearing conferences in pending Commission adjudicatory matters
- Enforcement Case Metrics
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator