A state employee may receive legal fees for services he performed and completed as a private attorney in a case that was settled prior to his state employment, where the fees are not in connection with a "particular matter" as applied in §4(a). Continued use of the employee's name as part of his former law firm may create a problem of "appearances" under §23 or violate the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Because a state employee was not a "trustee" of a public institution of higher education, the prohibitions of §23(a) do not apply to an appointment to a specific educational position.
A special state employee serving on a selection committee may apply for and serve in an uncompensated position on the board for which the committee is screening candidates, without violating G.L. c. 268A, §§ 6 or 23. Because the board position is unpaid, § 6 does not apply; however, § 23 prohibits the employee from using her official position to secure unwarranted privileges for herself or pursuing a course of conduct which will raise suspicion among the public that she is likely to be engaged in acts that are in violation of her trust. As such, the employee should not be present during the deliberations of the selection committee when the employee’s candidacy is being discussed.
A lawyer/legislator may enter into an office sharing arrangement with other attorneys, one of whom is a legislative agent. Although such an arrangement could constitute something of substantial value, it would not, by itself, violate Section 3(b) unless it were entered into for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by the legislator. Members of a group who, by their conduct, give the appearance of being partners will be treated as such. In order to avoid having a partnership status imputed to this group, each member should use separate stationery and business cards and should not join names on law lists, telephone directories or other professional notices other than to list their names on the office door. If the member of the group who is a legislative agent is compensated for his lobbying activities in connection with special legislation, the legislator could not vote on such legislation if he were negotiating or had any arrangement with the lawyer/legislative agent regarding legal services to be performed for him or his clients. The legislator could not take advantage of the disclosure and certification provisions of section 6 since, as an elected official, he does not have an appointing authority. Compliance with the foregoing guidelines and with the laws, rules and regulations which govern the activities of public officials, legislative agents and attorneys will insure that the nature of this relationship is a matter of public record and will adequately protect the public against any violation of sections 23(e) and 23(f).
A member of the General Court who serves on a Ways and Means Committee may assist his Town in its efforts to have the Department of Revenue postpone for one year the implementation of property re-evaluation. His interest as a property owner and taxpayer of that Town in the postponement of re-evaluation is one which is "shared with a substantial segment of the public" and, therefore, is not a financial interest to trigger application of Section 6 or 6A.
A state legislator who is on the board of directors of a non-profit organization cannot make State House office space, telephones and other facilities available to that organization.
A full-time state employee may not, pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 4(c), act as agent for a private non-profit corporation in connection with a contract with a state agency, including soliciting contributions related to the contract. Section 6 prohibits the employee from participating in any state matter in which the non-profit has a financial interest without disclosure and approval. Section 23 prohibits conduct creating an appearance of undue influence, pursuit of a course of conduct undermining public trust, or disclosure of confidential information.
A judge may not, pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, §§ 7 and 23, lease property held in a realty trust for the benefit of his minor children to a state agency. Because the lease would lessen the judge’s duty of financial support to his children and potentially provide trustee compensation, it creates a prohibited indirect financial interest under § 7. Additionally, § 23(f) prohibits the arrangement because it would create an appearance of inside dealing and undermine public trust.
The conflict of interest law will not prohibit a state employee from purchasing a private institution when the state employee does not participate in or have official dealings with the institution in his current state position and the employee intends to resign from his state position after purchasing the institution. Pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 6, the state employee may not participate in any matters in which the institution has a financial interest. Pursuant to § 23, the state employee may not use his state position to benefit the institution. Additionally, he will need to comply with post-employment restrictions under G.L. c. 268A, § 5, after he leaves state service.
The conflict of interest law will not prohibit an unincorporated Association from applying for a federal grant administered by a state agency when the Chair of the Association is also a State Legislator. However, the Legislator must comply with G.L. c. 268A, §§ 6, 7 and 23 in connection with the Association’s grant application. Pursuant to § 6, the Legislator may not participate as a member of the General Court in any special legislation affecting the Association. Pursuant to § 7, the Legislator may not have a direct or indirect financial interest in the grant the Association is seeking. Pursuant to § 23, the Legislator may not use his official position to privately benefit the Association.
Members of an advisory body are special state employees for purposes of the conflict of interest law where the advisory body was created by statute and its members were appointed by Selectboards from several municipalities to advise the state agency and facilitate communication between the state agency and municipalities. Therefore, pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, §§ 7 and 23, a member of the advisory body may not have a financial interest in a contract between his private company and the state agency that his board advises.
A county employee who also is a stockholder and officer of a cable-TV corporation is not prohibited from working for the cable-TV corporation in connection with licensing matters involving only municipalities because they will not involve contracts with the county and will not involve particular matters of direct and substantial interest to the county. In addition, the county employee must comply with § 23(e) regarding any county matters of interest to the municipalities also served by the cable-TV corporation.
A state employee may work part-time for a private corporation ss a fundraiser provided because the funds will not be in connection with any state particular matters. The state employee must also not solicit from any organizations or businesses with whom the employee deals in his state employee capacity.
A State employee will not be prohibited from being paid to provide consulting services to private companies because the work will not involve particular matters governed by G. L. c. 268A, § 4 and the private will be conducted without using State time or resources, in compliance with G. L. c. 268A, § 23(d).
G. L. c. 268A, § 23(e) prohibits a state employee from continuing to serve on the board of directors of a private organization because the organization has contracts with the state employee’s state agency. The state employee’s status as an insider with the private organization might give the impression that the state agency has given favorable consideration to the organization regarding the organization’s contracts with the state agency.
A part-time consultant to the Department of Mental Health is a special state employee under G.L. c. 268A. The employee may provide private training or client consultation to vendors not funded by DMH but may not receive compensation related to matters in which they participated or had official responsibility at DMH. The employee must also avoid using state resources or time and ensure that private work does not create conflicts of interest under §§ 4, 7, or 23.
A newly appointed Deputy Director of a state agency may continue under a prior consulting agreement with a national organization to present at out-of-state workshops, provided the organization has no dealings with the agency. G.L. c. 268A, §§ 3, 4, and 23 do not prohibit the activity so long as state time and resources are not used and the consulting work is unrelated to official duties.
A Department of Elder Affairs consultant may serve without compensation on the Legislative Action Committee of a labor organization to provide input on issues affecting the elderly. The consultant must not act as the Committee’s agent regarding legislation in which the Commonwealth has a direct and substantial interest and should seek further advice if such issues arise.
A state board chair employed by a city department may conduct paid workshops for that department on topics related to licensing and professional complaints, provided the chair receives no compensation. Although the department may profit from the workshops, G.L. c. 268A, §§ 3, 6, and 23 do not prohibit the activity. However, the Division of Registration’s Code of Conduct may restrict it, and the chair should seek guidance from the Secretary of the Executive Office of Consumer Affairs.
A member of the General Court may retain a 15% financial interest in housing units that receive §8 federal subsidy payments, since the state is not a party to the subsidy contract and he has only remote potential for influencing the operations of the state agency that reviews the contract. However, he may not retain his interest in units receiving rental assistance payments that emanate from a state agency (DCA) under a state rental assistance program, because the payments are made pursuant to a contract made by a state agency, and constitute a prohibited financial interest in a state contract.
A part-time consulting physician to the Disability Determination Services branch of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission may lease office space to consultative physicians who have been assigned by MRC to perform examinations or tests without violating §§ 4, 7 and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
A state employee who is an attorney in private practice and who participates in investing agency funds is subject to §§ 6 and 23 of the conflict of interest law if funds were invested with a Bank with which the state employee privately provides legal services.
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The superintendent of a state agency under the Department of Mental Health may accept a position with an entity that contracts with DMH subject to the restrictions of §§ 4, 6, 7 and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
A member of two different state boards, both within the Executive Office of Environmental Management, who is a former municipal employee, may sell a parcel of land to the Town to set aside for conservation purposes where the purchase by the Town will involve a funding request to EOEA provided that he can comply with §§ 4, 6, 7 and 23 of the conflict of interest law as a state employee and §18 of the law as a former municipal employee.
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A Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board member is advised that § 23 of the conflict of interest law prohibits his acceptance of free travel and accommodations from the Greater Boston Convention and Tourist Bureau to attend a Washington, D.C. reception designed to promote Boston as a convention and tourist destination.
A part-time city solicitor who primarily handles police department matters is advised that §§ 17, 23(b)(2), 23(b)(3) and 23(c) of the conflict of interest law apply to his ability to represent a criminal defendant on a gambling arrest in the city by the state police where he does not plan to call any city police officers as witnesses or raise any arrest-related defenses should the matter go to trial.
A member of the State Ethics Commission may also serve as Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston subject to the restrictions of §§ 4, 6, 17 and 23(c) of the conflict of interest law.
The executive director of a non-profit organization that receives funding from the state Executive Office of Communities and Development and which provides assistance in connection with two programs relating to the local housing authority may be appointed to the local housing authority, subject to the restrictions contained in §§ 17, 19, 20 and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
A district court employee is advised that §§ 23(b)(2) and (c) of the conflict of interest law apply to matters where he would be called upon to participate in matters in which his attorney-spouse appears on behalf of clients.
A Statewide Health Coordinating Council member is advised that Council members are state employees for conflict of interest law purposes and are subject to the restrictions set forth in §§ 4, 6, 7 and 23(c).
A member of the General Court who is also an attorney and real estate developer may be part of a real estate development team seeking to be designated to purchase and develop real estate offered by a municipality where the state will have no involvement in the process. The legislator is advised to comply with the provisions of §23(b)(3) of the conflict of interest law.
A state employee who designs devices for use by the state may design other devices for commercial marketing on his own time and not using public resources, subject to the restrictions in §§ 7 and 23(b)(2). He may not privately market devices developed while performing his state duties and may not market any privately developed devices to state agencies.
A Massachusetts Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation employee (CEDAC) is prohibited under § 4 of the conflict of interest law from acting as agent for a non-profit in which he serves as both an officer and board member in connection with an application submitted to CEDAC. As a CEDAC employee, he is also subject to the restrictions in §§ 6 and 23 of the law.
A town clerk is advised that an amendment to G.L. c. 268A, § 23 requires the clerk to provide a copy of § 23 to all elected and appointed town official to whom the town clerk administers an oath of office. The town clerk is not required to, but is not prohibited from, providing a copy of § 23 to other town employees who are not administered an oath of office.
A member of the Board of Registration in Nursing may also serve on an accreditation panel of the National League of Nurses, subject to the restrictions contained in §§ 4, 6 and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
A law firm associate is a special state employee as a consultant to the Special Master and a Trial Court Judge in connection with a court case involving a municipality and several state agencies over Boston Harbor pollution. He is subject to §§ 4 and 23 of the conflict of interest law. Because he is not a partner of the firm, the law firm partners are not subject to § 5 of the conflict of interest law.
An attorney in private practice who is employed by a consulting firm that is consulting to the Attorney General’s Office to oppose a petition by state agency DEF filed with state agency ABC is prohibited under § 23 from continuing to consult with the Attorney General’s Office if appointed by the Governor to a position with DEF.
An elected member of a municipal commission is subject to §§ 19 and 23 of the conflict of interest law if the municipal department overseen by the municipal commission hires the member’s son to a seasonal job in the department.
A Worcester State Hospital Board of Trustees member may participate as a Board member in transferring surplus hospital property to the Worcester Business Development Corporation and in a lawsuit over the transfer of the property where the board chair and an employee of his private employer are WBDC board members, subject to the restrictions in §§ 6 and 23(b)(3) of the conflict of interest law.
An attorney may not participate in a Bar Advocate program representing indigent defendants prosecuted by a District Attorney’s Office and be appointed as a special prosecutor handling child support cases in that office unless he serves as a special prosecutor for no more than 60 days in a 365-day period. The attorney is a special state employee subject to §§ 4 and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
A state employee does not violate §§ 3 or 23 of the conflict of interest law if a developer offers a gift of prints to the employee’s agency because the gift is being provided to the agency, and not to the state employee for his personal use.
A city councilor is advised that §§ 19, 20 and 23(c) of the conflict of interest law do not prohibit him from being appointed to an unpaid reserve officer position with the police department but may impose restrictions if funding for reserve police officers is approved.
The Secretary for the Executive Office of Public Safety is permitted, subject to the restrictions contained within § 23 of the conflict of interest law, to solicit contributions from private entities to fund a Governor’s initiative to eliminate drug and alcohol use in school districts.
A state employee does not violate the conflict of interest law by also holding a position of Honorary Consul of a foreign government but is subject to §§ 4(c) and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
The chairman of a board of registration may participate in the license application of a fellow board member subject to the provisions of §23(b)(3) of the conflict of interest law. The board member applying for the license is subject to §§ 6 and 23(b)(2) of the law.
A state agency head is advised about the restrictions in §§ 6, 7 and 23 of the conflict of interest law in connection with a contract involving the state agency and a partnership in which the state employee serves as a partner, where the day to day administration of the contract has been delegated to a company in which the state employee formerly served as an officer.
A state employee of a regional transportation agency is prohibited under § 23 of the conflict of interest law from accepting honorarium to participate on his own time in a review panel established by the Transportation Systems Center to assist the Urban Mass. Transportation Administration because the TSC is an agency under the state Department of Transportation which provides funding to the regional transportation agency, and the regional transportation agency is involved in a study for the UMTA.