PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Commissioner Eron Hackshaw called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Also in attendance were Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., and Commissioner Thomas A. Connors. Commissioner Edwards participated remotely. Chair Margot Botsford did not attend the public session, but subsequently attended the executive session. Vice Chair Josefina Martinez did not attend either session.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Commissioner Hackshaw 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. Commissioner Hackshaw noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Commissioner Hackshaw, seconded by Commissioner Connors, the Commission voted 3-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the June 20, 2024 Commission meeting.
| Vote: | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson reported that the salary adjustments for the Commission’s non-Unit 6 employees approved by the Commission at the June Commission meeting took effect in the final pay period of Fiscal Year 2024, totaled just under $48,000, and affected 17 employees. He thanked Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu for the substantial amount of work that she performed to implement the salary adjustments before the end of the fiscal year.
Budget
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget process. He reported that the Legislature did not finalize the Fiscal Year 2025 budget by the end of Fiscal Year 2024 on June 30th. Mr. Wilson said that the Legislature’s Conference Committee, which reconciles differences between the House and Senate budget bills, will apparently soon issue its report as there is reportedly now an agreement in principle on the budget. He explained that once the Legislature finalizes the budget and submits it to the Governor, the Governor will then have ten days to review the budget and exercise her veto power. Commissioner Connors asked at what level the Commission is currently funded at since the Legislature has not finalized the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. Mr. Wilson explained that the Commission will continue to be funded at its Fiscal Year 2024 level until the Fiscal Year 2025 budget is finalized.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough provided an update on several technical, non-substantive revisions to certain sections of the conflict of interest law and financial disclosure law to replace outdated language or add language to conform with provisions in other statutes which the Commission is seeking to have enacted. Ms. McCullough reported that she had asked the Governor’s Legislative Director whether the Commission could have the changes included in an upcoming legislative vehicle such as a supplemental budget. She explained that the technical, non-substantive revisions will likely go into the Fiscal Year 2024 closeout supplemental budget that the Governor will file this fall to be signed into law before the next legislative session.
New Commissioner
Mr. Wilson stated that there is nothing new to report regarding the appointment of a new commissioner to succeed Vice Chair Martinez.
New Workstations
Mr. Wilson reported that two new workstations have been installed in the Commission’s office in the area that had been used for the storage of legacy paper files. He thanked Special Assistant to Administration and SFI Rose Costa for her hard work to remove and relocate over 300 boxes of files so that the workstations could be installed. Mr. Wilson said that the workstations are already in use by Commission staff and will also be available for use by future Commission interns. He noted that the shelves and cabinets in the receptionists’ area, which had been in use for many years, have been replaced and partially repurposed for equipment storage.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for August 22, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. and September 19, 2024 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 June 2024.
Mr. Giannotti provided an update on the online conflict of interest law training platform. He reported that the work to provide closed captioning of the training program and the summaries of the law in Haitian Creole has been completed by the vendor, SkillBurst Interactive. He noted that SkillBurst has loaded the updated training program and that the Commission has received new program files from SkillBurst to be provided to the approximately twenty public agencies that host the conflict of interest law courses on their own learning management systems.
Mr. Giannotti reported that the analytics tool that was used to report website metrics, Google Analytics 360, was discontinued and replaced by a new tool, Google Analytics 4. He said that it will take some time to determine whether Google Analytics 4 can be implemented to monitor website activity. He noted that an analytics tool on the Mass.gov content management system reports limited website metrics and a useful comparison with the metrics reported by the Google Analytics 360 is not possible.
Mr. Giannotti reported that Senior Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti issued four press releases in June.
Mr. Giannotti reported that he conducted two public education seminars in June attended by 126 public employees. He noted that he is working with the Boston City Council to schedule a conflict of interest law seminar for members and staff, possibly for August.
Mr. Giannotti provided an update on the project to replace the Commission’s legacy case management system, Ethos. He reported that the project vendor, Arbola, is still developing the business workflows for the Commission and that user acceptance testing will begin when development has been substantially completed. He noted that the launch of the new application has been delayed to at least the end of August and most likely longer. Commissioner Hackshaw asked whether the other state agencies involved in the development of the enterprise case management solution are aware of the delays. Mr. Giannotti explained that the launch of the new application for the Department of Labor Relations was initially set for May but has been delayed until the end of August due to some application reconfigurations that were necessary. Commissioner Hackshaw asked whether there will be cost overruns or added costs incurred by the Commission due to the delayed launch. Mr. Giannotti explained that cost issues are being handled by Executive Director Wilson and the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS). He noted that costs for the development and implementation of the new case management system is being funded by capital bond funding from EOTSS. Mr. Wilson noted that, as of July 1, 2024, licensing costs will be paid for by the Commission at around $100,000 a year, or about $288 per user each month.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division. Ms. Slattery reported that she participated in a Boston Bar Association webinar on June 12, 2024 on Government Lawyers and Campaign Activities with the General Counsel of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance and Senate Counsel.
Legal Division Metrics for June 2024
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for June 2024.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 67 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 11 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| June 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 68/3 |
| May 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 64/23 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 373 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 4 pertained to SFIs.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| June 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 511/6 |
| May 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 615/220 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 0 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| For comparison: | |
|---|---|
| June 2023 (same month prior year): | 3 |
| May 2024 (previous month): | 0 |
- Backlog. As of July 11, 2024, the Division has 0 pending request for written advice that is more than 30 days old. There are a total of 6 pending requests for written advice.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the July/August calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings. She reported that, In the Matter of Scott Callahan, Docket No. 24-0013, the adjudicatory hearing has been rescheduled to October 25, 2024.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery provided an update on litigation matters. She reported that, in Commonwealth v. Daniel J. Galvis, Greenfield District Court, Criminal Docket No: 2441CR000371, the Commonwealth filed a motion with the Court pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 17 for an order for a summons to the Commission for copies of all evidence collected during the Enforcement Division’s investigations of defendant Daniel Galvis and Gilda Galvis. She noted that a hearing on the motion is scheduled for August 9, 2024 in Greenfield District Court, where she is likely to appear on behalf of the Commission.
Amicus Brief
Ms. Slattery reported that the Supreme Judicial Court has announced it is soliciting amicus briefs in the case of Commonwealth v. Spaulding regarding the terms ‘unwarranted privilege’ and ‘fraudulent intent’ in §§ 23(b)(2)(ii) and 26, respectively, of Chapter 268A, as applied in this criminal case. She explained that the Commission could provide the Court with information on its interpretation of the term ‘unwarranted privilege’ in § 23(b)(2), but noted the Commission does not have any precedent on the definition of ‘fraudulent intent.’ Commissioner Hackshaw said that the Commission should file an amicus brief with the Supreme Judicial Court since it would be helpful to provide some input on court rulings that could impact the Commission in the future. Commissioner Connors said that he agreed, and noted that the information will likely be used during criminal prosecution. Commissioner Edwards said that it would be appropriate for the Commission to file an amicus brief. Ms. Slattery noted the oral argument in the case has not been scheduled, but expected the amicus brief would not be filed until September 9, 2024 at the earliest.
SFI Report
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests (SFI) for Calendar Year 2023. She stated that the SFI Team is still working to locate one former public employee, who may be out-of-state, to get them to file. She reported that the SFI Team executed a change request order with the vendor to update the search page of the Public Inspection Module of the SFI system using the prepaid enhancement hours provided in the existing maintenance and support agreement. She noted that the SFI Team continued to review and negotiate the vendor’s proposed maintenance and support agreement for the SFI system for the next fiscal year. She further reported that the SFI Team responded to 63 phone, e-mail, and walk-in inquiries in June from filers seeking technical and legal assistance with their SFI filing.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Case Metrics and Enforcement Intake Metrics.
Ms. Brookman reported that the Enforcement Division received fewer complaints in June, which gave Division staff more time to reduce their overall caseloads. She further reported that there were only ten complaints in the intake backlog and said that she hopes the Division will further reduce the intake backlog to under 10 this month.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:30 a.m., on the motion of Commissioner Hackshaw, seconded by Commissioner Connors, the Commission voted 3-0 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: | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
Commissioner Hackshaw 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 July 18, 2024
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of June 20, 2024 Public Session
- Memorandum dated July 11, 2024 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in June 2024
- Memorandum dated July 11, 2024 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the meeting
- Calendar of hearing dates and pre-hearing conferences in pending Commission adjudicatory matters
- Memorandum dated July 11, 2024 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission on the Supreme Judicial Court soliciting amicus briefs
- Enforcement Case Metrics
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator