Overview
The State Ethics Commission (SEC) was established in 1978 under Section 2 of Chapter 268B of the Massachusetts General Laws. SEC consists of five members: three members, including the chairperson, appointed by the Governor; one by the Attorney General; and one by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The commissioners serve five-year terms, and there cannot be more than three members from the same political party at any time. SEC employs an executive director who oversees its administrative operations.
As of June 30, 2019, SEC had 25 employees. SEC received state appropriations of $2,093,969 and $2,254,948 for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, respectively. Its offices are located at 1 Ashburton Place in Boston.
SEC’s website states,
The State Ethics Commission is an independent state agency that administers and enforces the provisions of the conflict of interest law and financial disclosure law. . . .
The State Ethics Commission serves the public by fostering integrity in government. The independent agency provides free advice to all public employees on the conflict of interest law, and civilly enforces this law. [Any citizen] can contact the Commission to obtain legal advice, file a complaint, obtain a statement of financial interest or conflict of interest law disclosure form, or complete statutory conflict of interest law requirements.
Conflict of Interest Law Summary Acknowledgment Receipt
SEC is responsible for ensuring that all elected state and county employees comply with Section 27 of Chapter 268A of the General Laws by ensuring that they are given a summary of the Conflict of Interest Law and that they file an acknowledgment receipt with SEC. Accordingly, SEC maintains a list of all elected state and county employees, which includes each elected employee’s name, agency, position, and email address. This list is updated as needed to account for general and special election results and temporary appointments.2 At the beginning of each calendar year, SEC sends an email using Lyris ListManager3 to all elected state and county employees. The email includes a summary of the Conflict of Interest Law, an acknowledgment receipt, and instructions to send the acknowledgment receipt back to SEC within 30 days. Employees can send the acknowledgment receipt by signing a copy of it and emailing it back to SEC as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file or by replying to SEC’s email. On receiving the acknowledgment receipt, SEC logs the date it was received and the email address of the respondent in a spreadsheet. SEC monitors the responses and makes as many as three attempts, through either email or phone, to contact non-responders requesting their compliance. At the end of the fiscal year, SEC’s public education and communications division chief reviews the results of SEC’s compliance efforts with the executive director.
Conflict of Interest Law Online Training Program
SEC is responsible for ensuring that all elected state and county employees comply with Section 28 of Chapter 268A of the General Laws, including its requirements related to certification for SEC’s online training program. During even-numbered calendar years, only newly appointed or special elected state and county employees are responsible for completing the program; they must do so within 30 days of becoming elected employees and every two years thereafter. For odd-numbered calendar years, at the beginning of the year, SEC sends an email using ListManager to all elected state and county employees. The email requests that recipients complete the online training program by a specified due date4 and email their online training program certifications to SEC. Employees can email their certificates either as PDF files or as photographs of printed certifications. SEC logs the date and email address for each response in a spreadsheet; monitors the responses; and makes as many as three attempts, through email or phone, to contact non-responders requesting their compliance.
| Date published: | May 22, 2020 |
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