You are a member of the General Court and you are a partner with one other individual in XYZ Associates. You state that the business deals solely with individuals. You further state that XYZ Associates has not, is not now, and will not be doing business with a state entity. You ask whether this situation presents a conflict of interest under General Laws Chapter 268A.
In rendering this opinion, the Commission has been guided by the opinions of the Attorney General issued prior to November 1, 1978, the effective date of the Commission's jurisdiction over Chapter 268A matters. Furthermore, in rendering this opinion, the Commission has relied upon the facts as you have stated them and has not made any independent investigation of those facts.
You are a state employee but as a member of the General Court you are exempt from the prohibitions of § 4(a) and (c) by the €5 of that section, as amended by chapter 210 of the laws of 1978. Under that paragraph you are prohibited from receiving compensation for appearing before any state agency except in connection with ministerial matters, court proceedings or quasi-judicial proceedings. Your description of XYZ Associates indicates that you do not appear before any state agency in connection with the business so this prohibition is inapplicable.
Section 6 prohibits a state employee from participating in any particular matter in which he or a business organization which he serves as a partner has a financial interest. The enactment of general legislation is specifically excluded from the definition of "particular matter" by § 1(k). Section 6, however, prohibits you from participating as a member of the General Court in any special legislation affecting your own or the partnership's financial interest. See EC-COI-79-86; Attorney General Conflict Opinions 810, 771. Should any special legislation be filed, you would be required by the second paragraph of § 6 to file a disclosure of that matter and your financial interest therein with the Ethics Commission.
Section 7 prohibits a state employee from having a financial interest in contracts made by a state agency. You advise us that XYZ Associates does no business with any state entity, so the prohibitions of this section are inapplicable.
Section 6A, added by chapter 210 of the Acts of 1978, requires a public official, a phrase defined by § 1(q) and (p) of Chapter 268B to include a member of the General Court, to file a disclosure statement with the Ethics Commission if, in the discharge of his official duties, he would be required to take any action which would substantially affect his own financial interest unless the effect on him is no greater than the effect on the general public. The enactment of general legislation is included with the coverage of this section. See Ec-COI-79-86. Section 6A does not prohibit the official from acting on the legislation. It merely requires the public official to file a written description of the required action and the potential conflict of interest with the Ethics Commission. However, you have not furnished us with any information concerning pending legislation which might affect your business and therefore we cannot advise you on the specific application of § 6A to your situation. If a particular factual circumstance arises which is of concern to you, you may, of course, seek another opinion from us.
End Of Decision
