| Date: | 04/30/1979 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
Election law practice is a "particular matter" in which the state has a "direct and substantial interest." A state employee may not simultaneously serve as an appointed member of the city Board of Election Commissioners.
You are a full-time state employee in a state agency.
You ask whether the state's conflict of interest law, General Laws Chapter 268A prohibits your serving simultaneously for compensation as an appointed member of the Board of Election Commissioners in a City.
Sections 4(a) and (c) prohibit a state employee from receiving compensation from or acting as agent or attorney for anyone other than the Commonwealth or a state agency in relation to any particular matter in which the Commonwealth has a direct and substantial interest. In making its analysis and arriving at its conclusion, the Commission has relied upon the precedents and opinions of the Attorney General issued prior to November 1, 1978, the effective date of the Commission's jurisdiction in this area. A state employee who also holds a municipal or city position is not automatically in violation of § 4. Each case turns on whether the local office or position involves matters in which the Commonwealth has a direct and substantial interest, not on your position in state service.
The Attorney General has previously found that particular matters involving liquor licensing, equalized property valuation, and solid waste disposal are ones in which the state has such an interest primarily because of the extensive state regulation of, and the state's concern about, the activities of these local authorities. See Attorney General Conflict Opinion Nos. 675, 741 and 850; Attorney General Opinion No. 78/79-17. The Ethics Commission has concurred in these findings. See, for example, Ethics Commission Conflict Opinions Nos. EC-COI-79-3 and EC-COI-79-6. The Attorney General has determined, in a prior opinion, that election law practice is a particular matter in which the state has a direct and substantial interest. See Conflict Opinion Attorney General No.79. Further, the Commission notes that the Secretary of State has increasingly sought to regulate local election practices and procedures to ensure uniformity in fulfilling his statutory responsibilities. See General Laws Chapter 54; 950 CMR Chapters 50-55.
As a state employee, you are prohibited from serving as a Board member since you receive compensation from and act as an agent for the Board in violation of § 4(a) and (c). You cannot avoid this conflict under § 4 simply by refusing any compensation as an Election Commission member. While such a refusal would cure a violation of § 4(a), your service as a member of the board would continue to violate § 4(c) since Board members clearly function as agents of the city in regard to all election matters.
End Of Decision
