Opinion  EC-COI-81-23

Date:	02/11/1981
Organization:	State Ethics Commission

A mailing service which is privately established by a member of the General Court may not transact any business with a state agency; it may, however, contract with federal, county, or municipal agencies, or with members of the General Court who pay for the service out of personal funds or annual expense allowance. The service may not use his official stationery, nor may he suggest that his official actions may be influenced by a decision to use or not to use his mailing service.

Facts

You are a member of the General Court and wish, in your private capacity, to establish "a mailing service that can be utilized by municipal, state and federal elected officials".

Question

You ask whether, consistent with the conflict-of-interest law, General Laws Chapter 268A, (1) you may do so and (2) you may use your "privately paid for official stationary" for your cover letter soliciting such business.

Discussion

       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. As a member of the General Court, you are a state employee as that term is defined in G.L. c. 268A, s.1(q). Section 7 of Chapter 268A prohibits a state employee from having a direct or indirect financial interest in a contract made by a state agency*. Accordingly, you will be prohibited from transacting business with a state agency. Section 7 will not, however, prohibit you from contracting with federal, county or municipal agencies. See EC-COI- 80-71. Moreover, you will not be prohibited from transacting business with other members of the General Court if you are paid from their personal funds or their annual expense allowance. See G.L. c. 3, s.9B. However, you, of course, remain subject to the Standards of Conduct set out in Section 23 of Chapter 268A which, among other things, prohibits a state employee from using or attempting to use "his official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for himself or others" [see s.23 (d)] and from "by his conduct [giving] reasonable basis for the impression that any person can improperly influence or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties" [s.23(e)]. These provisions would prohibit you from using your official stationary, even if "privately paid for", in connection with this private business venture. More generally, in your contracts with other members of the business with, you must avoid indicating in any way that your official actions would be affected by their decision to use or not to use your mailing service*.

* "State agency" is defined in Section 1(p) to include "any department of a state government including the executive, legislative or judicial, and all councils thereof and thereunder, and any division, board, bureau, commission, institution, tribunal or other instrumentality within such department, and any independent state authority, district, commission, instrumentality or agency, but not an agency of a county, city or town.

* The Commission is authorized to render advisory opinions only as to the requirements of Chapters 268A and 268B. Accordingly, we express no opinion as to whether your proposed business venture is permissible under any internal rules and regulations of the General Court or any other statutes.

End Of Decision