Opinion  EC-COI-82-22

Date:	03/16/1982
Organization:	State Ethics Commission

Facts

Dear  

You currently serve as the Director of a Bureau of a state agency (ABC). In that capacity, you perform certain regulatory functions in relation to a certain industry. You also conduct of field audits and render assistance advice to the ABC on new policies and regulations. The DEF is an association which regularly appears before you.

DEF has recently requested you to present a seminar explaining new ABC regulations and has offered you an honorarium. You have also been approached by a representative of the GHI, an organization comprised of industry administrators in Massachusetts. GHI has requested you to present a six-hour seminar explaining recently adopted ABC regulations, and other matters affecting this industry.

You wish to know whether the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A, permits you to accept honoraria for presenting seminars to DEF and GHI. The Commission advises you that it does not.

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.

Discussion

In your capacity as an ABC Bureau Director, you are a state employee within the meaning of G.L. c. 268A, § 1(q). EC-COI-81-176. As a state employee, you are prohibited by G.L. c. 268A, § 23 from accepting other employment that will impair your independence of judgment in the exercise of your official duties (23[a]), or from giving by your conduct, reasonable basis for the impression that any person can improperly influence you or unduly enjoy your favor in the performance of those duties (§ 23[e]). It further prohibits you from using your official positions to secure unwarranted privileges for you or from pursuing a course of conduct which will raise suspicion among the public that you are likely to be engaged in violations of your trust (§§ 23[d], [f]). The Commission has consistently applied these provisions to prohibit state employees from accepting compensation from individuals or organizations whom they regulate in their state capacity. See, EC-COI-81-133; 81-46; 80-17. In particular, the Commission has advised state officials that the acceptance of honoraria for speaking engagements is permissible only where:

1. State supplies or facilities not available to the general public are not used in the preparation or delivery of the address;
2. State time is not taken for the preparation or delivery of the address;
3. Delivering the speech is not part of the employee's official duties;
4. Neither the sponsor of the address nor the source of the honorarium, if different, is a person or entity with which the employee might reasonably expect to have dealings in your official capacity. EC-COI-80-28.

These requirements insure that a state employee will not use his or her official position for private gain, will not receive extra compensation in effect for doing his or her job, and will have undivided loyalty to the Commonwealth. These prohibitions also avoid public concern over the credibility and independence of state officials.

In applying these principles to your situation, it is clear that the sponsors of the honoraria would be organizations which appear before you in your regulatory capacity and which have a substantial financial stake in the outcome of your responsibilities. Accordingly, you should refrain from accepting honoraria from DEF and GHI while you continue to have dealings with these organizations or their members in your official ABC capacity. Should other speaking engagement offers arise, you should be guided by the standards set forth above.

 

End Of Decision