You were appointed by the Commissioner of a state agency to serve on one of the Area Board Selection Committees which will screen applicants and recommend to the Commissioner a list of no more than 50 candidates for the 21 positions in each of the 40 Area Board. In accordance with Guidelines adopted by the Commissioner for selection committee members who are also interested in being candidates for appointment to an Area Board, appointees accepted their position with the knowledge and their own name cannot be submitted to the Commissioner unless they obtain a favorable opinion on this issue from the State Ethics Commission. Any member of a selection committee who is interested in appointment to the Area Board has been permitted to indicate that fact to the Commissioner at the time of their appointment and a form letter was distributed to each appointee to facilitate their process.
You are interested in being appointed as a volunteer member of an Area Board and, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Commissioner, you ask whether it would violate the conflict of interest law, General Laws Chapter 268A, for your name to be included on the list which your selection committee will submit to the Commissioner.
Since you are not compensated for serving as a member of the selection committee, you are a "special state employee" as that term is defined in § 1(o)(1). Section 6 prohibits a state employee from participating in any particular matter in which she has a financial interest. If the position you seek were compensated, you would be prohibited from participating in the Committee's decision regarding your application for inclusion on the list of names for appointment. However, since the position of Area Board member is not compensated, § 6 does not apply to you.
Section 23, which establishes supplemental standards of conduct, prohibits a state employee from using or attempting to use 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. The Guidelines adopted by the Commissioner pursuant to this section are designed to preserve the integrity of the selection process. We note that the individuals appointed to serve on selection committees were chosen because they possess qualifications which would also qualify them to serve as members of the Area Board. We do not believe that the conflict of interest law precludes concerned citizens who volunteer their time in order to assist in a selection process from applying for the volunteer positions for which they are performing the screening, nor do we believe that the Commonwealth should be deprived of their continued public service. Therefore, we conclude that you may apply for an Area Board position, but that you should not be present during the deliberations of the screening committee when your candidacy is being considered by the group.
End Of Decision
