| Date: | 05/15/1979 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
Section 7 prohibits a state employee from entering into a consulting contract with a private organization funded by the state since his compensation would derive from the state grant of funds. He also may not enter into a consulting contract directly with a state agency.
You are a full-time state employee with a state agency (ABC).
You ask whether the provisions of General Laws Chapter 268A, the state's conflict of interest law, would prohibit you from working on your own time for two other state agencies.
In rendering this opinion, the Commission has been guided by, and will continue to follow for the near future, the decisions of the Attorney General issued prior to November 1, 1978, the effective date of the Commission's jurisdiction over Chapter 268A matters. Section 7 prohibits a state employee from having a direct or indirect financial interest in a contract made by a state agency. You would like to act as a consultant to a private organization (ORG). ORG is entirely funded by a grant from the ABC. The agreement between ABC and ORG, even if characterized as a grant is deemed a contract under § 7. The payments you would receive as a consultant derive directly from the ABC grant to ORG. The Attorney General has ruled in a similar case that those payments give you an indirect financial interest in that grant. See Attorney General Conflict Opinion No. 798.
You also ask whether you may contract directly with another state agency as a consultant. § 7 would prohibit you from contracting directly with a state agency since that consultant contract is not within any of the exemptions to § 7.
End Of Decision
