PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m. Also in attendance were, Commissioner R. Marc Kantrowitz, Commissioner Josefina Martinez, Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., and Commissioner Eron Hackshaw. Chair Krokidas, Commissioner Kantrowitz, Commissioner Martinez, Commissioner Edwards, and Commissioner Hackshaw participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Chair Krokidas announced that the meeting would take place remotely pursuant to Governor Baker’s Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, § 20, dated March 12, 2020. She stated that members of the public had been invited to watch and listen to the public session via Zoom Webinar. Chair Krokidas noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
Chair Krokidas introduced newly appointed Commissioner Hackshaw, who was participating in his first Commission meeting.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Commissioner Kantrowitz, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 5-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the November 18, 2020 and November 24, 2020 Commission meetings.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Kantrowitz | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson welcomed Commissioner Hackshaw.
Mr. Wilson informed the Commission that the vacant Special Investigator position in the Enforcement Division has been filled by Paul Murray, who has been working for Enforcement as a contract investigator. He also notified the Commission that a new Special Investigator, Lena Sarunn, will join the Commission staff on January 19, 2021. Mr. Wilson said that the new full-time position of Assistant Agency Counsel will be posted soon in order to hire an attorney to assist all divisions as needed.
Mr. Wilson reported that he and General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery participated in a videoconference on December 29, 2020 for newly-elected senators at the request of Senate Counsel in order to provide an introduction to the conflict of interest law. Mr. Wilson noted that Senate President Spilka opened the training session. Mr. Wilson expressed his appreciation for the Senate’s interest in having the training session despite the pandemic.
Budget
Mr. Wilson said that the Legislature provided the Commission with $2,583,964 in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget that was passed in December 2020, which is $191,845 more than the level of funding in Fiscal Year 2020. Mr. Wilson said that this higher level of funding enables the backfilling of the vacant special investigator position and the hiring of an additional attorney. Mr. Wilson expressed thanks for the support for the Commission and its work the Legislature has demonstrated by approving this funding.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt provided an update on the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. Mr. Milt explained that the Legislature overrode vetoes by the Governor based on revenue projections to fully meet the Commission’s original funding request for Fiscal Year 2021. He said that the Commission is currently working on the budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 to sustain a higher level of funding than Fiscal Year 2021.
Ongoing Projects
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s online conflict of interest law training program. Mr. Tuoti said the project team received draft recommendations from consultant RSM regarding the development of a new conflict of interest law online training program. He added that when the recommendations are finalized, the project team will draft an RFQ for the development of the new training program with a goal of issuing it in early 2021. Mr. Tuoti noted that since the work is expected to continue into Fiscal Year 2022, the Commission has applied for continued capital project funding for Fiscal Year 2022.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Mr. Milt provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s legacy case management system Ethos. Mr. Milt explained that the Commission has been working with EOTSS to replace Ethos for the past three years since it is at least a decade old with very basic functions. He reported that the Governor’s capital plan authorized $500,000 in capital funding in Fiscal Year 2021. Mr. Milt noted that the project team is in the process of hiring a consultant and has requested an additional $500,000 for Fiscal Year 2022.
Next Meeting
Following discussion, the Commission scheduled its next meetings for February 18, 2021 at 9:30 a.m., March 18, 2021 at 9:30 a.m., and April 15, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented his memorandum detailing Public Education and Communications Division activities for the month of November 2020.
Mr. Giannotti provided a general overview of the Public Education and Communications Division. He explained that he conducts approximately sixty education seminars per year for various public agencies, including three seminars in November for public employees hosted by the state Inspector General’s Office and one for college boards of trustees members hosted by the Department of Higher Education.
Mr. Giannotti explained that Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti, who also serves as the Records Access Officer for the Commission, issues press releases and responds to public and press inquiries. He also said that both Mr. Tuoti and Program Coordinator Arthur Xia update the website with various content such as meeting notices, meeting minutes, and press releases.
Mr. Giannotti said the Calendar Year 2021 compliance period for the conflict of interest law education requirements will begin soon. He explained that all public employees will be required to acknowledge receipt of the summary of the conflict of interest law and complete the online training program during the current compliance period. Mr. Giannotti said that he will work with Mr. Xia to send notifications to state, county, and municipal agencies regarding the training requirements.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Ms. Slattery provided a general overview of the Legal Division. She explained that the Division provides legal advice to public employees by phone, answers written requests for advisory opinions, and reviews municipal opinions by city solicitors and town counsel.
Legal Division Metrics for November 2020
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for November 2020.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or email 22 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 2 pertained to SFIs.
| November 2019 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 45/6 |
| October 2020 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 39/1 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 228 requests for advice from state, county and municipal officials. Of these requests, 2 pertained to SFIs.
| November 2019 (same month last year) (total/SFI): | 345/30 |
| October 2020 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 307/10 |
- 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.
| November 2019 (same month last year): | 0 |
| October 2020 (previous month): | 1 |
- Backlog. As of today, the Division has 3 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There is a total of 13 pending requests for written advice.
SFI Summary
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on the Calendar Year 2020 Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) filing season. Ms. Duca said that the SFI Team sent out a request to agencies for their annual Designation Lists on November 9, 2020. She explained that the Lists contain the names, positions and other information for each person at the agency required to file an SFI for Calendar Year 2020. She noted that agencies must submit their Designation Lists using the SFI system by January 8, 2021.
Ms. Duca said that the SFI Team is reviewing a proposed maintenance and service agreement from the vendor who developed the SFI system for the Calendar Year 2020 SFI filing season if funding is available in the budget. She added that the target date for opening the Calendar Year 2020 SFI filing season is January 25, 2021, but since Speaker DeLeo recently resigned from his position, they are trying to move up the target date to accommodate candidates for the special election who need to submit a filing to the Secretary of State’s Office in order to appear on the ballot for the special election.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the January calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings. She noted that there will be a motion hearing for the Charles Carroll matter on January 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
Chair Krokidas asked when adjudicatory proceedings will be conducted at the Commission office. Ms. Slattery said that it will ultimately depend on the vaccination rollout schedule in order to determine when all hearings and depositions will likely be conducted in-person.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery provided an update in litigation matters. In particular, she reported that in December, the Commission filed the Administrative Records in Donohue v. State Ethics Commission, Norfolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2082CV00886, and Comtois v. State Ethics Commission, Suffolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2084CV02105, and the Plaintiffs’ motions for judgment on the pleadings were due January 13, 2021 and January 18, 2021, respectively.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics.
Ms. Brookman said that new Special Investigator Lena Sarunn will join the Commission staff on January 19, 2021, while Special Investigators Tim Gravel and Lynn Edmonds will continue to be away on military and parental leave respectively.
Ms. Brookman thanked the Public Education and Communications Division for assisting the Enforcement Division with processing complaint intake. Ms. Brookman reported that the Division continued to hold the open complaint backlog relatively steady in November. When the Division is fully staffed, she said that the goal will be to reduce the duration of preliminary inquiries to under six months and to further reduce the intake backlog.
Ms. Brookman presented a memorandum summarizing Enforcement Division functions and processes. Ms. Brookman stated that the flow chart attached to the memorandum may help explain the steps in a resolution of an enforcement matter, and would be included in subsequent packets. She thanked Candies Pruitt for her assistance in drafting the attached flow chart.
MEDIATION POLICY
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery said that the Commission is not statutorily required by the conflict of interest law to provide alternative dispute resolutions in adjudicatory matters. She explained that the Commission would have to determine the preliminary guidelines on how mediation could be conducted before creating a new policy to offer it to parties as part of adjudicatory proceedings. Following discussion by the Commission, the Commission agreed to discuss the possibility of a mediation policy further at the next meeting.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 11:09 a.m., on the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Kantrowitz, the Commission voted 5-0 to enter executive session to discuss matters subject to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A, § 21, subparagraph (a)(7), and § 18, and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 3 and 4, including investigatory matters, preliminary inquiries, summons authorization requests, and adjudicatory matters.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Commissioner Kantrowitz | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
Chair Krokidas stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
The meeting recessed at 11:10 a.m. and reconvened at 11:20 a.m.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of January 6, 2021
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of November 18, 2020 Public Session
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of November 24, 2020 Public Session
- Memorandum dated December 17, 2020 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning the Public Education and Communications Division activities in November 2020
- Memorandum dated December 14, 2020 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 Intake Metrics
- Memorandum dated December 11, 2020 from Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman to the Commission concerning a summary of the Enforcement Division functions and processes
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Program Coordinator