| Date: | 03/12/1984 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
A company owned by a county commissioner may contract with a district court to perform services. The contract would be with a state, rather than a county agency, and so would not violate §14. Likewise, the contract would not violate §11 because it is not a matter of direct and substantial interest to the county.
You are a County Commissioner. You also are a stockholder and salaried officer of a company (Inc.). A state agency intends to lease a privately owned building to be used as a state facility. You understand that the state agency will require the type of services your company provides. You state that the development of the state facility and in particular the lease arrangement has been free of involvement by any County agency.
Does G. L. c. 268A permit Inc. to bid on and perform work at the state facility?
Yes.
As County Commissioner, you are a county employee, G. L. c. 268A, §1(d), and covered by the provisions of the conflict of interest law. Section 14 of that law prohibits you from having a direct or indirect financial interest in a contract made by the County in which the County is an interested party. The Commission has previously advised you that this section prohibits Inc. from maintaining an equipment contract with the County (EC-COI-81-19) or an emergency repair contract with the County (EC-COI-82-71). In both situations, the County was the contracting agency, and you did not qualify for any exemptions because your ownership interest in Inc. exceeded ten percent. G. L. c. 268A, §14 ¶(c). Your current fact situation is distinguishable from these precedents because Inc.'s proposed service contract would be with a state agency rather than a county agency. [citation omitted]. Inasmuch as the county is not a party to the contract and has had no involvement in the current development of the state facility, the contracting agency is the commonwealth and not the County. Therefore, your contract would not be prohibited by §14.
Your proposed arrangement is also permissible under G. L. c. 268A, §11, which prohibits County employees from receiving compensation from or acting as agent or attorney for non-County parties in relation to any particular matter in which the County is a party or has a direct and substantial interest. While the service contract would be a particular matter under G. L. c. 268A, §1(k), your activity on behalf of Inc. with respect to the contract would not be in relation to a matter in which the county is either a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
End of Decision
DATE AUTHORIZED: March 12, 1984
