PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Vice Chair Josefina Martinez called the meeting to order at 9:43 a.m. Also in attendance were Chair Margot Botsford, Commissioner Eron Hackshaw, and Commissioner Thomas A. Connors. Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr. subsequently joined the meeting. Chair Botsford participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Vice Chair Martinez 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 Martinez noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Connors, the Commission voted 4-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the May 23, 2024 Commission meeting.
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the agency participated as a host organization in the Professional Fellows Program sponsored by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through their Global Leaders Division. Mr. Wilson noted that the Commission’s hosting team for the fellowship was led by Senior Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald. At Mr. Wilson’s request, Mr. McDonald provided an update on the Professional Fellows Program. Mr. McDonald reported that Professional Fellow Emily Flores completed her fellowship on June 7, 2024. He noted that Ms. Flores said she had a wonderful experience at the Commission during meetings with staff from each of the Commission’s Divisions to learn more about the different Commission activities. Mr. McDonald thanked the Commission staff for their efforts and willingness to participate and support the successful fellowship.
Mr. McDonald further reported that, as part of the Professional Fellows Program, there is an opportunity for Commission staff to travel to Honduras and El Salvador in November as part of an exchange delegation. He noted that the deadline to apply to join the exchange delegation is in a couple weeks, and he encouraged any Commission staff interested in participating in the program to apply. Vice Chair Martinez asked whether the Commission would participate as a host organization in the Professional Fellows Program every year. Mr. Wilson explained that the Commission would have to be asked by the program organizers to participate as a host organization and said that he hopes the Commission will be able to participate again in future years.
Budget
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget process. He reported that the Senate on May 23rd passed its Fiscal Year 2025 budget bill which provides for the Commission to be funded at an amount $30,000 greater than the Governor’s budget recommendation for the Commission of $3,634,121 which was echoed in the House Budget and the Senate Ways and Means Committee recommendation, but still substantially less than the Commission’s full budget request of $3,942,219. Mr. Wilson thanked Senator Moore for filing the amendment that increased the Commission’s funding in the Senate budget bill by $30,000 over the amount recommended by the Senate Ways and Means Committee, as well as the cosponsors of the amendment. Mr. Wilson said that he hopes the Legislature’s Conference Committee, which will reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budget bills, will agree to fund the Commission at the higher level of funding of the Senate bill. Mr. Wilson reported that he had sent letters to all members of the Conference Committee and other budget conferees advocating for the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request. Mr. Wilson noted that the Conference Committee will likely not conclude its business by the end of Fiscal Year 2024, and stated he expects that the Legislature will probably finalize the Fiscal Year 2025 budget by July 31, 2024.
Chair Botsford asked whether the Commission would continue to pursue a new Commission internship program. Mr. Wilson responded that, if the Commission does not receive its full budget request, it will likely not be able to fund a paid internship program. He said that the Commission could continue with unpaid Commission internships until the Commission is able to secure funding for a paid internship program. Chair Botsford said that unpaid Commission internships may still be worth pursuing to see whether students would apply. Mr. Wilson noted that two new workstations are on track to be installed in the Commission’s office before the end of this fiscal year and will be available for use by future Commission interns.
New Commissioner
Mr. Wilson stated that there is nothing new to report regarding the appointment of a new commissioner to succeed Vice Chair Martinez.
Staff Training
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission staff would participate in a training program on neurodiversity provided by The Arc of Massachusetts later that day. He explained that this training is the first in a planned series of training programs being developed in response to interests in training topics expressed by Commission staff in response to a survey. Mr. Wilson further reported that, based on the staff survey, training programs on interacting with neurodiverse persons, interacting with people with mental health issues, and generational bias, which were the three most frequently requested topics, were given priority. He noted that a training program relating to mental health has been scheduled for September and that a training program on generational bias is in the process of being scheduled.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for July 18, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. Vice Chair Martinez noted that she will be unable to attend the Commission meeting in July and asked whether the Commission would meet in August. Mr. Wilson responded that a Commission meeting has been tentatively scheduled for August 22, 2024 at 9:30 a.m., if needed, and noted that the Commission could decide at its July meeting whether to hold or cancel the August 22nd meeting. Following discussion, the Commission scheduled a meeting for September 19, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.
COMPENSATION OF CERTAIN UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that nine Commission staff are paid according to the NAGE Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule, and the rest of the staff, other than himself, are paid salaries determined by the Executive Director in consultation with Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu and approved by the Commission. He said that he is now requesting that the Commission approve contribution, performance, responsibilities, and equity-based salary increases for the Commission’s Non-Unit 6 employees, other than himself, in specific amounts to be determined by him in his discretion as Executive Director in consultation with Ms. Wu, retroactive to a date at the discretion of the Executive Director, totaling in aggregate not more than $35,000.
Commissioner Connors asked how many Commission employees are not paid according to the NAGE Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule. Mr. Wilson stated that twenty-one Commission staff are not paid according to the NAGE Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule. He explained that this is the last opportunity for the Commission to provide these salary increases for the Commission’s Non-Unit 6 employees during the final pay period of this fiscal year. Mr. Wilson further explained that the Commission had budgeted for the salary increases in its Fiscal Year 2024 budget and in its budget request for Fiscal Year 2025.
[Commissioner Edwards joined the meeting at 9:57 a.m.]
Commissioner Hackshaw asked whether the salary increases, totaling in aggregate not more than $35,000, were sufficient to be divided among the Commission’s Non-Unit 6 employees. Ms. Wu explained that, while the salary increases totaling in aggregate of $35,000 would be sustainable for Fiscal Year 2025, the Commission may be able to provide salary increases totaling in aggregate of approximately $48,000. Commissioner Connors suggested that the Commission could vote to approve the salary increases, provided that the total amount of all salary increases combined does not exceed $48,000, with the final amount to be determined by Mr. Wilson in consultation with Ms. Wu.
On the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Connors, the Commission voted 5-0 to authorize the Executive Director, in his discretion and in consultation with the Commission’s Chief Financial Officer, to provide contribution, performance, responsibilities, and equity-based salary increases to certain Commission employees who are not paid according to the NAGE Unit 6 collective bargaining agreement salary schedule and who are determined by the Executive Director to merit said salary increases in such amounts and with such retroactivity in Fiscal Year 2024 as determined by the Executive Director in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer to be warranted, provided that the total amount of all salary increases combined does not exceed $48,000.
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented his memorandum detailing Public Education and Communications Division activities for the month of May 2024.
Mr. Giannotti provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s legacy case management system, Ethos. He reported that the vendor, Arbola, has built most of the modules reflecting the business workflows of the Commission. Mr. Giannotti noted that User Acceptance Testing, where Commission staff will test and verify whether the modules meet the needs of the Commission has been delayed. He stated that the launch of the new application has been subsequently postponed to the end of July to ensure sufficient time for User Acceptance Testing. Mr. Giannotti reported that Arbola had conducted two training sessions for Commission staff on the Salesforce platform and will soon conduct position-specific training sessions for Commission attorneys, investigators, and receptionists. Mr. Giannotti reported that he and Information Technology Specialist Tony Webb are now working with Arbola to migrate data from Ethos to the new application.
At Mr. Giannotti’s request, Senior Public Information Officer Gerry Tuoti provided an update on the online conflict of interest law training platform. Mr. Tuoti reported that the work to provide closed captioning of the training program and the summaries of the law to add Haitian Creole has been completed by the vendor, SkillBurst Interactive. He noted that SkillBurst will load the updated training program at a time that is least disruptive to users, and that the Commission will receive 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. Tuoti explained that approximately 180 minutes of training program content needed to be translated into Haitian Creole along with the three versions of the summaries of the conflict of interest law. He said that the Commission had contracted with a third-party translation service to review Skillburst’s work. Mr. Tuoti noted that the conflict of interest law training has English audio narration with closed captioning available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, simplified and traditional Chinese, and now Haitian Creole.
Mr. Giannotti noted that nearly 250,000 users have registered to use the new online learning platform since its launch on January 12, 2023.
Mr. Giannotti noted that the Commission serves as the keeper of the records for conflict of interest law education compliance for elected state and county officials, and that Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia has been responding to inquiries from elected state and county officials about the requirements. He reported that 312 elected state and county officials have already complied with the conflict of interest law education requirements for this year.
At Mr. Giannotti’s request, Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia provided an update on the Commission’s use of social media. Mr. Xia reported that the Commission has now more than quadrupled the number of LinkedIn followers since he first claimed the Listing Page in December 2019. Mr. Xia explained that, since July 2023, he has posted Commission’s press releases and job postings on the page to keep followers, consisting of agency heads, chiefs of staff, general counsel, human resources directors, and other public employees, more informed and engaged about Commission activities. Mr. Xia noted that ethics agencies and organizations from other states, such as the Nevada Commission on Ethics and the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission, are now following the Commission’s LinkedIn page, and that the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) has been regularly reposting the Commission’s posts on its own LinkedIn page.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Legal Division Metrics for May 2024
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for May 2024.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 64 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 23 pertained to SFIs.
| May 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 105/19 |
| April 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 104/38 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 615 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 220 pertained to SFIs.
| May 2023 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 637/183 |
| April 2024 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 673/104 |
- 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.
| May 2023 (same month prior year): | 3 |
| April 2024 (previous month): | 2 |
- Backlog. As of June 12, 2024, the Division has 1 pending request for written advice that is more than 30 days old. There are a total of 16 pending requests for written advice.
Vice Chair Martinez asked for a status update on the one pending request for written advice that is more than 30 days old. Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca reported that she responded to that request last week.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery presented the June/July calendar of conferences/hearings in pending Commission adjudicatory proceedings.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery provided an update on litigation matters. She reported that, in Ember Pizza, Inc. et al. v. Town of Harwich, Barnstable Superior Court Civil Action No. 2172CV00349, the Appeals Court affirmed the judgment dismissing the complaint on May 20, 2024.
Ms. Slattery reported that, in Anderson v. Executive Office of Public Safety et al., Appeals Court No. 2024-P-0552, Susan Anderson filed an appeal of the Superior Court’s Summary Judgment on May 15, 2024 for defendants Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Mass.), Mass. State Police and the Executive Office of Public Safety. She explained that the Commission had been named as a defendant in the Superior Court action, but plaintiff subsequently filed a notice of dismissal of the Commission with prejudice. Ms. Slattery further explained that, in the underlying case, Anderson sought indemnification for her legal fees in defending herself in a Commission adjudicatory proceeding. She noted that the Commission was notified of the appeal as a party in the lower court case but is not expected by the Appeals Court to file a brief.
SFI Report
Ms. Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests (SFI) for Calendar Year 2023. She said that the filing deadline for appointed public employees was May 1, 2024, and the filing deadline for elected public officials was May 28, 2024. Ms. Duca reported that all elected public officials successfully filed before May 28, 2024. She stated that the SFI Team is still working to get two former public employees to file. She explained that while one of the non-filers has been notified, the SFI Team is working to locate the other non-filer, who may be out-of-state, to get them to file. Ms. Duca further reported that the SFI Team responded to 504 phone, e-mail, and walk-in inquiries in May from filers seeking technical and legal assistance with their SFI filing. She commended Special Assistant to Administration and SFI Rose Costa, Information Technology Specialist Tony Webb, and Administrative Assistant Theresa Meli Omodei for their hard work during the highly successful SFI filing season.
Proposed Technical Amendments to Chapters 268A and 268B
Ms. Slattery reported that the Legal Division has prepared recommendations for approval by the Commission regarding technical, non-substantive revisions to certain sections of the conflict of interest law and financial disclosure law, including G.L. c. 268A, §§ 1(n), 7, 2, 29 and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 2, 3(d), to revise outdated language or add language to conform with provisions in other statutes. She noted that, with the Commission’s approval, Government Affairs Officer Jennifer McCullough would seek to have the changes included in an upcoming legislative vehicle such as a supplemental budget. Commissioner Hackshaw asked whether personal cell phone numbers should be included in the proposed amendment to § 3(d) concerning the portions of a statement of financial interest filed that are exempt from public disclosure. Ms. Duca explained that the language in the proposed amendment is consistent with the public records law. Vice Chair Martinez asked whether “home telephone number” could be changed to “personal phone number” instead since the language in the statute is outdated. Ms. Slattery suggested that “home telephone number” could be changed to “home or personal phone number.”
Following presentation by Ms. Slattery, on the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 5-0 to approve the proposed amendments to G.L. c. 268A and G.L. c. 268B to make non-substantive changes to update language in the statutes as amended at the meeting.
| Chair Botsford | Yes |
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
Ms. Slattery thanked Senior Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald for his assistance in preparing the recommendations of the proposed technical amendments to the statutes.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics.
Ms. Brookman reported that, while the Enforcement Division received an unprecedented 115 complaints in May as compared to the average number of complaints received each month of around 70, the intake backlog still decreased from 15 to 12 last month. She thanked Administrative Assistant Caroyln Teehan and the investigators for their hard work in processing the complaint intake. Ms. Brookman said that she hopes the Division will further reduce the intake backlog to under 10 this month.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:43 a.m., on the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, 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 Botsford | Yes |
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
Chair Botsford 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 June 20, 2024
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of May 23, 2024 Public Session
- Memorandum dated June 13, 2024 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in May 2024
- Memorandum dated June 12, 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 June 13, 2024 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission on Proposed Technical Amendments to G.L. c. 268A and G.L. c. 268B
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator