PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. Also in attendance were Vice Chair David A. Mills, Commissioner Thomas J. Sartory, Commissioner R. Marc Kantrowitz and Commissioner Josefina Martinez.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Commissioner Kantrowitz, seconded by Commissioner Sartory, the Commission voted 5-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the February 21, 2019 Commission meeting.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson reported that attorney Ting Y. Chiu has accepted the position of Assistant General Counsel. Ms. Chiu is a graduate of Lafayette College and Boston University School of Law. She most recently worked at Greater Boston Legal Services. Mr. Wilson said that Ms. Chiu is scheduled to begin work at the Commission on April 8. He said that with this hiring, the Legal Division is fully staffed and that all existing Commission staff positions are filled. Mr. Wilson said the Commission now has a staff of 25, up from about 17 in September 2016.
Budget
Mr. Wilson said that on March 15, he and Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt traveled to Worcester, where he testified before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means in support of the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request.
Mr. Wilson said the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget includes $2,283,095 in funding for the Commission. He said that, while the Commission appreciates that the Governor’s figure represents an increase of almost 2% over the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2019 funding, additional funding is still needed to maintain and improve services due to increasing costs. Mr. Wilson said the Commission is requesting approximately $109,000 more in funding than the Governor proposed. He said the request includes an expansion of approximately $65,000 to fund the addition of a new position in the Public Education and Communications Division. Mr. Wilson said the division, which is responsible for providing conflict of interest law training and educational services to more than 400,000 state employees, currently has two staff providing education-related services: the Division Chief and the Public Information Officer. Mr. Wilson said he views the Public Education and Communications Division as one of three crucial pillars of the Commission, but that it trails the other divisions in terms of staffing and resources. He said providing educational services is an efficient way of spending taxpayers’ money, because prosecution is not needed when a violation is prevented from occurring in the first place through education.
Chair Krokidas suggested that providing the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with information about the volume of complaints the Commission receives could be an effective way to illustrate the importance of education. Mr. Wilson said that when speaking outside of budget hearings and in one-on-one meetings, he provides a higher level of detail concerning these matters. Vice Chair Mills thanked Mr. Wilson and the Commission’s budget team for their efforts.
New Case Management System
Mr. Wilson provided an update on the Commission’s efforts to identify a replacement for our existing case management system, Ethos. He said the Commission and several other agencies are partnering with the Executive Office of Technology and Security Services to conduct research and view product demonstrations. Mr. Wilson said work on the project is expected to continue into next fiscal year.
Senate training
Mr. Wilson said that he and General Counsel Eve Slattery conducted an ethics training session for members of the Senate in the Office of the Senate President on March 20. He said the session went well and was well received. Mr. Wilson said it is important to have face-to-face interactions with members of the Legislature.
Training
Mr. Wilson told the Commission members that they, like members of the staff, were required to complete their online conflict of interest law training by April 5.
Office improvements
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission has been working with the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to solicit bids on installing new carpeting and painting interiors in the Commission’s office suite. He said that bids for the work were unfortunately too high. He said the Commission is now working on soliciting bids for just the carpet installation work.
Legal matter
Mr. Wilson reported that on March 12, Staff Counsel Norah Mallam argued for the Commission in front of the Appeals Court in McGovern v. State Ethics Commission. He said Ms. Mallam presented an excellent argument.
Next Meeting
After discussion, the Commission scheduled the next Commission meetings for April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, and August 15, 2019 at 9:30 a.m.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION REPORT
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented the monthly Public Education and Communications Division Report.
Mr. Giannotti reported that he was conducting a total of four conflict of interest law seminars for staff of the State Senate so that all staff will receive training on the conflict of interest law. He also conducted a seminar for Securities Division staff of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office. Mr. Giannotti said he recently presented conflict of interest law information to students in a Master of Public Administration class at Suffolk University, and was scheduled to participate in a panel discussion at Boston College on ethics and conflicts of interest.
Mr. Giannotti said that the April 5 deadline for public employees to complete conflict of interest law education requirements was approaching and that he was sending out reminder notices to public agencies. For the current compliance period, all public employees must acknowledge receipt of the summary of the conflict of interest law and complete the conflict of interest law online training program.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Legal Division Metrics for February 2019
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for February 2019.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or email 58 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B.
For comparison: February 2018 (same month last year): 72
January 2019 (previous month): 60
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone or on a walk-in basis in response to 398 requests for advice from state, county and municipal officials.
For comparison: February 2018 (same month last year): 471
January 2019 (previous month): 443
- 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: February 2018 (same month last year): 2
January 2019 (previous month): 2
- Backlog. As of today, the Division has 6 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There is a total of 28 pending requests for written advice.
SFI Summary
Deputy Legal Division Chief/SFI Lauren E. Duca provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests. She reported that since the SFI filing system for 2018 SFIs opened on January 29, 2019, the SFI team has provided technical and legal assistance by phone and in writing. Ms. Duca said the SFI Team worked with its vendor to resolve some technical issues that have arisen, and is also working to develop a list of proposed enhancements to the SFI system. Ms. Duca said the team is also developing a policy to help more efficiently and accurately track the number of redacted SFIs viewed by the public using the SFI system’s Public Inspection Module. Ms. Duca said there was a 26 percent compliance rate so far, which is average for this early point in the filing season.
Litigation Matters
McGovern v. State Ethics Commission: Appeals Court Docket No. 2018-P-1060. On March 12, 2019, oral argument was held before Justices Desmond, Sacks and Lemire. Legal Division Attorney Norah Mallam argued for the Commission. Attorney Vincent Bongiorni argued for McGovern.
Ms. Slattery thanked Commissioner Kantrowitz, the Hon. Mitchell Sikora (ret.), Commission staff attorneys, and others, for participating in moot court sessions.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Investigations Unit Metrics Report
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement intake metrics for February 2019. She said the case backlog is still being reduced. She thanked Mr. Giannotti for assisting with intake, which has given investigators additional time to continue working to reduce the backlog.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:08 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 advisory opinions.
VOTE: Chair Krokidas yes
Commissioner Mills yes
Commissioner Sartory yes
Commissioner Kantrowitz yes
Commissioner Martinez yes
Chair Krokidas stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
1. Agenda for the Commission Meeting of March 21, 2019
2. Minutes of the State Ethics Commission Meeting of February 21, 2019 Public Session
3. Memorandum dated March 14, 2019 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning the Public Education and Communications Division report for the meeting
4. Memorandum dated March 12, 2019 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the March 21, 2019 meeting
5. Legal Division Calendar
6. Report of Enforcement Division Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Gerry Tuoti
Public Information Officer