| Date: | 03/01/1979 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
A state employee seeking to take a new position with a non-profit corporation is forever prohibited by §5(a) from any involvement in any program funded by a grant in which he, as a state employee, reviewed the application, made any recommendation, or otherwise "participated" in the funding determination. This prohibition ceases upon termination or renewal of that grant.
You are currently an employee of a state agency (ABC). You ask whether, consistent with General Laws Chapter 268A, the conflict of interest law, you may serve as Director of Operations for the Council of (Council), a non-profit corporation, if you leave your present position. In rendering this opinion, the Commission has been guided by, and will continue to follow for the near future, the interpretations and opinions of the Attorney General issued prior to November 1, 1978, the effective date of the Commission's jurisdiction over Chapter 268A matters.
As a former state employee, the prohibitions of Section 5 would apply to you. Section 5(a) would prohibit you from forever acting as agent or attorney for or receiving compensation from anyone other than the Commonwealth or a state agency in connection with any particular matter in which the Commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which you participated. You state that your responsibilities as a state employee include reviewing existing federally funded Commonwealth type A grants and making recommendations about them. This activity constitutes participation in "particular matters" - namely, grant awards - to which the Commonwealth is a party and in which it has a direct and substantial interest. See Attorney General Conflict Opinion No. 638.
The Council's Director of Operations is responsible for supervising the activities of its programs, including a type A program. You would be prohibited from being involved with any program which is being funded by a ABC grant in which you, as a state employee, reviewed the application, made any recommendation, or otherwise participated in the funding determination.
This prohibition ceases upon termination or renewal of that grant. See Conflict Opinion No. EC-COI-79-24; Conflict Opinion No. EC-COI-78-1; Attorney General Conflict Opinion 790.
You also state that part of your duties would involve compiling periodic and special reports covering the Council's programs for use by the Council's Executive Director in negotiating with various funding sources. Your work will not relate to a "particular matter" in which you participated as a state employee as long as any such report on a program currently funded by a ABC grant in which you "participated" is used only in conjunction with proposals for renewal of the grant or future financial assistance. See Attorney General Conflict Opinion No. 790.
Finally, as Director of Operations you may be called upon to represent the Council "when and as deemed necessary by the Executive Director". § 5(b) would prohibit you from appearing personally before any court or agency of the Commonwealth as agent for the Council within one year after you cease working for in connection with any "particular matter" in which the Commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and which was within the two-year period preceding your departure from the agency. § 5(e), added by the 1978 amendments to Chapter 268A (Chapter 210 of the Acts of 1978) would prohibit you from acting as "legislative agent" (defined by Chapter 3, § 39) for the Council during the one year following your departure.
End Of Decision
