| Date: | 10/09/1979 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
A member of the General Court may serve without compensation as a member of a state advisory board and may appear before a state agency on behalf of the Board. He is not required to disqualify himself in "particular matters" relating to the Board since the law excludes the "enactment of general legislation" from the definition of "particular matters."
You are a member of the General Court.
You ask if it would violate the conflict of interest law, General Laws Chapter 268A, for you to serve without compensation as a member of a state advisory Board.
You are a state employee but, as a member of the General Court, you are exempt from the prohibitions of § 4(a) and 4(c) by the fifth paragraph of § 4, as amended by Chapter 210 of the Acts of 1978. Under that paragraph, you are prohibited from personally appearing for any compensation other than your legislative salary before any state agency except in connection with ministerial matters, court appearances or quasi-judicial proceedings. Since you will not receive compensation for serving on the board (cite omitted), you are not subject to the prohibitions of that paragraph, and you may also appear personally before any state agency on its behalf. Further, your membership on the Board will not require you to disqualify yourself in particular matters relating to it since § 1(k) excludes "enactment of general legislation" from the definition of a "particular matter". Consequently, the prohibitions of § 6 are inapplicable. See EC-COI-79-15.
End Of Decision
