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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-002 BOBACKHonorable Karen Boback State Representative Pennsylvania House of Representatives 141 -B East Wing P.O. Box 202117 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2117 Dear Representative Boback: 2007. I. ISSUE: OPINION OF THE COMMISSION Before: Louis W. Fryman, Chair John J. Bolger, Vice Chair Donald M. McCurdy Paul M. Henry Raquel K. Bergen Nicholas A. Colafella DATE DECIDED: 1/29/08 DATE MAILED: 2/5/08 08 -002 This Opinion is issued in response to your advisory request dated December 3, Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would require a state legislator to disclose on her Statement of Financial Interests as a gift: (1) the provision by a municipality or county of a room at no charge for part -time use as a satellite district office; or (2) the provision by a nonprofit community organization of a room at no charge for use as a legislative district office on a once -a- month basis, and if disclosure would be required, how such gift(s) would be valued. II. FACTUAL BASIS FOR DETERMINATION: As a Member of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, representing the 117 Legislative District, you have submitted the following facts and questions for review by this Commission. Your first specific inquiry is whether you would be required to disclose on your Statement of Financial Interests as a gift a room provided to you by a municipality or county for part -time use as a satellite district office, where such room would be provided by the governmental entity free of charge as a public service. Boback, 08 -002 February 5, 2008 Page 2 Your second specific inquiry is based upon the following submitted facts. Northern Columbia Community and Cultural Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center ") is a local nonprofit organization established to provide a community center for recreational, educational, and social purposes. The Center has offered to make a room available, free of charge, for you to use as a legislative district office on a once -a -month basis, to assist constituents in that part of your Legislative District. The Center also makes this room available for use by the Red Cross. You ask whether you would be required to disclose on your Statement of Financial Interests as a gift a room that would be provided to you by the Center at no charge for you to use once a month as a legislative district office. Your third specific inquiry is as follows. If you would be required to report on your Statement of Financial Interests as a gift the provision of a room pursuant to either or both of the above - mentioned arrangements, whether you could rely upon a value placed upon the gift(s) by the municipality and /or the Center, and if not, how you would calculate the value of the gift(s). In your advisory request letter, you state that the aforementioned arrangements would promote the respective governmental and nonprofit interests of the entities providing the office space. You state that said arrangements would also serve the governmental interests of the House of Representatives by enabling you to provide more comprehensive constituent service as part of your official duties without imposing any drain upon the Commonwealth or the applicable municipal treasury. We take administrative notice that Rule 14 of the Rules of the House of Representatives (hereinafter also referred to as the "Rules of the House "), pertaining to reimbursement of expenses of Members and employees of the House of Representatives, provides, in pertinent part, as follows: RULE 14 Members' and Employees' Expenses .... Money appropriated specifically to and allocated under a specific symbol number for allowable expenses of members of the House of Representatives shall be reimbursed to each member upon submission of vouchers and any required documentation by each member on forms prepared by the Chief Clerk of the House. No reimbursement shall be made from this account where a member is directly reimbursed for the same purpose from any other appropriation account. Such allowable expenses of members may be used for any legislative purpose or function, including but not limited to the following: (3) Rent for legislative office space; purchase of office supplies; postage; telephone and answering services; printing services and rental only of office equipment; voucher and vendor's receipt, except for postage expense Boback, 08 -002 February 5, 2008 Page 3 Rules of the House of Representatives, Rule 14 (Emphasis added). By letter dated December 13, 2007, you were notified of the date, time and location of the public meeting at which your request would be considered. III. DISCUSSION: It is initially noted that pursuant to Sections 1107(10) and 1107(11) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. §§ 1107(10), (11), advisories are issued to the requester based upon the facts that the requester has submitted. In issuing the advisory based upon the facts that the requester has submitted, this Commission does not engage in an independent investigation of the facts, nor does it speculate as to facts that have not been submitted. It is the burden of the requester to truthfully disclose all of the material facts relevant to the inquiry. 65 Pa.C.S. §§ 1107(10), (11). An advisory only affords a defense to the extent the requester has truthfully disclosed all of the material facts. As a State Legislator, you are a public official subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act, including the requirements for filing Statements of Financial Interests. Cf., Feese, Opinion 07 -015. Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act provides: § 1104. Statement of financial interests required to be filed (a) Public official or public employee. - -Each public official of the Commonwealth shall file a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the commission no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Each public employee and public official of the Commonwealth shall file a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the department, agency, body or bureau in which he is employed or to which he is appointed or elected no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Any other public employee or public official shall file a statement of financial interests with the governing authority of the political subdivision by which he is employed or within which he is appointed or elected no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Persons who are full -time or part -time solicitors for political subdivisions are required to file under this section. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a). Section 1105(b) of the Ethics Act, which sets forth the substantive disclosure requirements for Statements of Financial Interests, provides, in pertinent part, as follows: § 1105. Statement of financial interests (b) Required information. - -The statement shall include the following information for the prior calendar year with regard to the person required to file the statement: Boback, 08 -002 February 5, 2008 Page 4 (6) The name and address of the source and the amount of any gift or gifts valued in the aggregate at $250 or more and the circumstances of each gift. This paragraph shall not apply to a gift or gifts received from a spouse, parent, parent by marriage, sibling, child, grandchild, other family member or friend when the circumstances make it clear that the motivation for the action was a personal or family relationship. However, for the purposes of this paragraph, the term "friend" shall not include a registered lobbyist or an employee of a registered lobbyist. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1105(b)(6). Section 1105(b)(6) of the Ethics Act requires the filer to disclose on the Statement of Financial Interests the name and address of the source and the amount of any gift or gifts valued in the aggregate at $250 or more and the circumstances of each gift. The filer is not required to disclose gifts from a family member or friend (with the term "friend" excluding a registered lobbyist or employee of a registered lobbyist) when the circumstances make it clear that the motivation for the action was the personal /family relationship. The Ethics Act defines the term "gift" as that term is defined in Section 1303 -A of Pennsylvania's lobbying disclosure law ( "Lobbying Disclosure Law "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1303 -A / 13A03 (see, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102). The definition of "gift" is as follows: § 1303 -A. Definitions. "Gift." Anything which is received without consideration of equal or greater value. The term shall not include a political contribution otherwise reportable as required by law or a commercially reasonable loan made in the ordinary course of business. The term shall not include hospitality, transportation or lodging. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1303- A/13A03. In applying the above provisions of the Ethics to your inquiry, you are advised as follows. The provision by a county, municipality, or nonprofit organization of a room on a part -time basis, at no charge, for a Member of the House of Representatives to use as a satellite /part -time legislative district office would constitute a "gift" as that term is defined above. However, the answer to the question of whether the provision of such a room would be considered a gift to the Commonwealth or to the Member would hinge upon the Rules of the House. Clearly, the Commonwealth pays certain expenses, including rent, for the legislative district offices of House Members. Neither Rule 14 of the Rules of the House (quoted above) nor the submitted facts indicate whether there is any applicable limit Boback, 08 -002 February 5, 2008 Page 5 to the number of legislative district offices a House Member may maintain at Commonwealth expense. Therefore, based upon the submitted facts, you are advised that you would not be required to disclose as a gift on your Statement of Financial Interests the provision by a county, municipality, or nonprofit organization of a room on a part -time basis, at no charge, for your use as a satellite /part -time legislative district office, subject to the conditions that: (1) the provision of such part -time legislative district office(s) would not cause you to exceed any applicable limit to the number of legislative district offices which you would be entitled to maintain at Commonwealth expense; and (2) your use of such part -time office space would be strictly limited to use as a legislative district office and would not extend to non - governmental activities. Based upon the above, your final inquiry as to valuation need not be addressed. The propriety of the proposed conduct has only been addressed under the Ethics Act. IV. CONCLUSION: A Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is a public official subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. ( "Ethics Act "), including the requirements for filing Statements of Financial Interests. A Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would not be required to disclose as a gift on her Statement of Financial Interests the provision by a county, municipality, or nonprofit organization of a room on a part -time basis, at no charge, for the Member's use as a satellite /part -time legislative district office, subject to the conditions that: (1) the provision of such part -time legislative district office(s) would not cause the Member to exceed any applicable limit to the number of legislative district offices which the Member would be entitled to maintain at Commonwealth expense; and (2) the Member's use of such part -time office space would be strictly limited to use as a legislative district office and would not extend to non - governmental activities. Act. The propriety of the proposed conduct has only been addressed under the Ethics Pursuant to Section 1107(10) of the Ethics Act, the person who acts in good faith on this Opinion issued to him shall not be subject to criminal or civil penalties for so acting provided the material facts are as stated in the request. This letter is a public record and will be made available as such. Finally, a party may request the Commission to reconsider its Opinion. The reconsideration request must be received at this Commission within thirty days of the mailing date of this Opinion. The party requesting reconsideration must include a detailed explanation of the reasons as to why reconsideration should be granted in conformity with 51 Pa. Code § 21.29(b). By the Commission, Louis W. Fryman Chair