| Date: | 07/03/1986 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
A legislator who is also a licensed stockbroker may solicit and do business with municipal and county retirement boards subject to the restrictions set forth in §§ 4, 6 and 6A of the conflict of interest law.
You are a member of the General Court and are also a registered stockbroker. Your compensation is based primarily on commissions which you receive from business transactions. You also can receive fees and commissions for providing investment advice.
You are interested in soliciting business with municipal and county pension funds and anticipate either selling investments or providing investment advice.
Does G.L. c. 268A permit you to solicit and/or do business with municipal and county pension funds?
Yes. Should you do business with a county pension fund, however, certain limitations may apply to you in your official capacity as a legislator.
As a member of the General Court, you are a "state employee" for the purposes of G.L. c. 268A. EC-COI-83-43. Section 4 of G.L. c. 268A governs the outside activities of state employees and imposes substantial limitations on the receipt of compensation and on the representational activities on behalf of non-state parties in relation to matters which the commonwealth regulates. As applied to members of the General Court, however, § 4 restricts only paid appearances before state agencies in connection with certain types of proceedings. See G.L. c. 268A, § 4(paragraph 5). Paid appearances before municipal or county agencies do not fall within the prohibitions of §4. Accordingly, while § 4 would restrict your soliciting or doing business with the state employee retirement board, the pension reserve investment management board, the teachers retirement board, and other state agencies, you will not be prohibited from soliciting or doing business with municipal and county retirement boards.
Aside from § 4, issues under s.6 may come into play if you are selected as an adviser for or do business with a county retirement board. Section 6 requires your abstention as a legislator whenever you are called upon to participate in a particular matter in which you or a business organization which employs you has a financial interest. Because members of the General Court may review the budget of each county, you might be called upon to review the line item retirement fund account of a county with which you are are doing business. The line item retirement fund account of a county is a "particular matter" within the meaning of G.L. c. 268A. § 1(k). See EC-COI-82-9. In view of the financial interest which both you and your company would have in the account, § 6 requires your abstention in any legislative review of that matter.[1] Should such a situation arise, you would be required also to file a disclosure of your financial interest in the matter with the Commission pursuant to G.L. c. 268A. § 6 and § 6A.
End Of Decision
