PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Vice Chair Josefina Martinez called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Also in attendance were Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr. and Commissioner Thomas A. Connors. Commissioner Eron Hackshaw was not present.
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 Edwards, the Commission voted 3-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the May 18, 2023 Commission meeting.
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson commended Special Investigator Shawn McElroy, Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca, Assistant Agency Counsel John McDonald, and Special Assistant to Administration and SFI Rose Costa for arranging the event for the former Commissioners. He thanked Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt, General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery, and Ms. Duca for selecting the gifts for the former Commissioners. Mr. Wilson also thanked Vice Chair Martinez and Commissioners Edwards, Hackshaw, and Connors for their generosity in covering the cost of the food for the event.
Mr. Wilson congratulated Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald on his recent promotion to Senior Assistant General Counsel.
Budget
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt provided an update on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget process. Mr. Milt reported that the Senate passed its budget on May 25, 2023, which included the Commission’s full budget request of approximately $3.5 million. He noted that the Senate-passed budget was $133,000 more than the Governor’s recommended budget and the House-passed budget, a $500,000 increase over the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2023 spending level. Mr. Milt stated that the Conference Committee will now reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budget bills. He explained that, since the Conference Committee will likely not finalize the budget by the end of the fiscal year, the Governor will submit and the Legislature will pass an interim budget to fund government operations through the end of July 2023. Mr. Milt said that the Commission can vote to approve a letter to the Conference Committee advocating for the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget. He stated that, at this time, he does not believe a letter is necessary. Mr. Milt explained that, if circumstances were to change, he would ask the Commission to submit a letter to the budget conferees.
Ongoing Projects
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Mr. Milt provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s legacy case management system, Ethos. Mr. Milt reported that the project team attended a series of meetings with the vendor, Sophus Consulting, to configure a common Salesforce-based legal case management system platform. He noted that the project team will discuss the technical documentation provided by the vendor about the base model.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Senior Public Information and Communications Officer Gerry Tuoti provided an update on the Commission’s new conflict of interest law online training programs. Mr. Tuoti stated that the Commission was recently invited to participate in a panel on e-learning at the upcoming Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) Annual Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. He reported that the COGEL Programming Committee also invited the Commission to present information about the new online learning platform at an upcoming COGEL Sub-Connect virtual panel on e-learning in July. Mr. Tuoti reported that, in addition, members of the project team were scheduled to meet with the national nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, which informed the Commission it plans to feature the new training in an upcoming report on exemplary and innovative education and training practices in government ethics. He further reported that more than 120,000 state, county, and municipal employees have registered for the new online learning platform, and approximately 200,000 completion certificates have been issued since its launch on January 12, 2023, which is the equivalent of 400 reams of paper saved had the completion certificates been printed. Mr. Tuoti noted that he is continuing work with the vendor, SkillBurst Interactive, on a new implementation services contract to improve the user experience with new features by the end of the fiscal year.
Mr. Wilson commended Mr. Tuoti, Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti, and Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia for their work on the implementation of the new online learning platform and their handling inquiries from the public about the training. Vice Chair Martinez asked whether the online training program will be revised every year. Mr. Tuoti explained that, while most of the training will remain the same, the knowledge-check questions are randomly pulled from a larger pool of questions for each user. He said additional content revisions could be possible in the future, although there are not currently any planned content revisions. Mr. Wilson stated that the Commission will seek funding in the future for further revisions of the new online learning platform.
New Commissioner
Mr. Wilson stated he has been in contact with the Governor’s Boards and Commissions Office about the appointment of a new commissioner to succeed Chair Krokidas, and there is nothing new to report. He noted that, at the request of the Boards and Commissions Office, he has provided qualified persons interested in serving on the Commission with the Office’s contact information.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for July 20, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. Following discussion, the Commission tentatively scheduled a Commission meeting for August 24, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.
BUDGET-RELATED CORRESPONDENCE
Following discussion, on the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 3-0 to delegate to the Vice Chair authority to approve a letter to the members of the House and Senate Conference Committee from the four current Commissioners advocating for the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget which may be drafted by the Executive Director and the Government Affairs Officer.
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION
Mr. Wilson stated that he is requesting that the Commission approve an additional $10,000 over the $30,000 the Commission approved on May 18, 2023 for merit, retention, and equity increases for Commission employees whose compensation is not set according to the Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule, in individual amounts to be determined by the Executive Director in consultation with Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu, retroactive to July 1, 2022 or a later date at the discretion of the Executive Director. He noted that the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2023 maintenance budget includes funding for these salary increases.
On the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, the Commission voted 3-0 to authorize the Executive Director, at his discretion and in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer, to expend up to an additional $10,000 over the $30,000 approved on May 18, 2023, for merit, retention, and equity increases for certain staff not paid according to the Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule other than the Executive Director, in amounts to be determined by the Executive Director; such increases to be retroactive to July 1, 2022 or a later date at the discretion of the Executive Director.
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | 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 2023.
Mr. Giannotti reported that he conducted five public education seminars in May attended by 258 public employees. He further reported that he presented information about the new online training platform at a Massachusetts Town Clerks Association meeting attended by over 200 town clerks, many of whom serve as the local administrator for their municipalities to administer the conflict of interest law education requirements.
Mr. Giannotti reported that the Public Education and Communications Division responded to 354 telephone and e-mail inquiries regarding the new online learning platform in May. He stated that the Division will begin auditing the use of the new learning platform and contact those public agencies that have signed up to use the new system but have yet to have their employees use the new system, noting that even if an agency is waiting until later this year to have employees complete the conflict of interest law education requirements, all new employees must complete the requirements within 30 days of appointment.
Mr. Giannotti stated that he is working with staff from the Governor’s Boards and Commission’s Office, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to allow appointees of state boards and commissions who are appointed by the Governor or through the respective secretariats to use the new learning platform to complete the education requirements, noting that members of these boards and commissions may not be able to use the state’s MassAchieve learning management site to complete the requirements.
Mr. Giannotti reported that Mr. Tuoti recently responded to a public records request for all 638 conflict of interest law disclosures that have been filed with the Commission since January 2022. He thanked Mr. Tuoti for his efforts to comply with the request. Mr. Tuoti thanked Legal Division Administrative Assistant Theresa Meli Omodei for her assistance in assembling the disclosures. Mr. Giannotti noted that a new case management system would hopefully allow Commission staff to access these records and respond to public records requests more efficiently.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Ms. Slattery reported that the Legal Division has reduced its backlog since April.
Legal Division Metrics for May 2023
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for May 2023.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 105 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 19 pertained to SFIs.
| May 2022 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 74/38 |
| April 2023 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 62/20 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 637 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 183 pertained to SFIs.
| May 2022 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 566/197 |
| April 2023 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 478/134 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 3 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| May 2022 (same month prior year): | 1 |
| April 2023 (previous month): | 3 |
- Backlog. As of June 14, 2023, the Division has 2 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There are a total of 19 pending requests for written advice.
SFI Report
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on the Calendar Year 2022 Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) filing season. Ms. Duca said that the filing deadline for appointed public employees was May 1, 2023, and the filing deadline for elected public officials was May 30, 2023. She explained that elected public officials who did not file by the filing deadline were sent a formal notice of lateness that provided them with a 10-day statutory grace period to file without incurring any possible civil penalty for their late filing. Ms. Duca reported that the remaining elected public officials successfully filed during their grace period. She stated that the SFI Team is still working with several non-filers, all of whom are former appointed public employees, to get them filed before the end of their grace period. Ms. Duca noted that the SFI Team will begin to send monthly reminders to agency liaisons about entering new filers in the SFI system and updating the contact information for departing filers.
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 Comtois v. State Ethics Commission, Appeals Court Docket No. 2021-P-1151, the Respondent paid the $20,000 civil penalty in full on June 12, 2023.
Ms. Slattery reported that, in Haley v. State Ethics Commission, Suffolk Superior Court Civil Action No. 2284CV02661, a hearing on the motions for judgment on the pleadings has been scheduled for October 26, 2023.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics.
Ms. Brookman reported that May was the third month in a row in which the Enforcement Division received over 90 complaints. She noted that the Division typically receives approximately 70 complaints each month. Ms. Brookman further reported that the Division has reduced the intake backlog to only 12 open complaints in May. She thanked the investigators for successfully reducing the intake backlog to the lowest number of open complaints in a decade.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:12 a.m., on the motion of Vice Chair Martinez, 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.
| Vice Chair Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Connors | Yes |
Vice Chair Martinez 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 22, 2023
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of May 18, 2023 Public Session
- Memorandum dated June 15, 2023 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in May 2023
- Memorandum dated June 14, 2023 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
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator