Opinion  EC-COI-81-96

Date:	06/23/1981
Organization:	State Ethics Commission

A Department of Mental Health employee may not, pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 7, provide compensated consulting services to a state court because such an arrangement would create a prohibited financial interest in a contract with a state agency. The prohibition applies regardless of whether the services are performed on personal time or during a leave of absence.

Facts

You are an employee of the Department of Mental Health (DMH).

Question

You ask whether consistent with the conflict of interest law, General Laws Chapter 268A, you may provide consulting services for compensation to the ABC Court (ABC).

Answer

The Commission concludes that you may not.

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. The ABC Court of Massachusetts, has recently received a grant from (source and description of grant omitted.)  In your capacity with DMH, you are a state employee, Section 7 of General Laws Chapter 268A prohibits a state employee from having "a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a state agency, in which the commonwealth or state agency is an interested party". The BMC is a state agency as that term is defined in § 1(p).See,EC-COI-80-45, 68, 88. In providing consulting services, you will have a contractual relationship with that agency. Accordingly, § 7 prohibits such an arrangement. None of the exemptions set out in § 7 apply to your case. See EC-COI-80-70.

Decision

       In particular the commission concludes that your contractual services will not constitute "teaching in an educational institution of the commonwealth" inasmuch as the funding for your services would not originate with the commonwealth and the program is neither mandated by state law nor administered by a state agency,Compare,EC-COI-81- 95, EC-COI-81-40, EC-COI-81-39. It will make no difference if you provide the consulting services to the ABC on days taken as vacation and/or personal days at DMH or while on a leave of absence from DMH. You remain a state employee subject to § 7 during such time.^[1] You, of course, could provide the services if you were not compensated for doing so. Compare, EC-COI-80-69.

^[1] Section 7 is intended to prevent state employees from using their position to obtain contractual benefits from the state and to void any public perception that public employees have a "inside track" on such opportunities. That goal will not be served if the employee could merely alter his status for a desired period.

End Of Decision