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Home My WebLink About13-2001 Campolongo DETERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION Before: John J. Bolger, Chair Raquel K. Bergen Nicholas A. Colafella Mark Volk Mark R. Corrigan Roger Nick DATE DECIDED: 1/28/13 DATE MAILED: 2/4/13 13-2001 Steven G. Campolongo 905 Moore Street Philadelphia, PA 19148 Dear Mr. Campolongo: This is in response to your undated letter postmarked November 19, 2012, by which you requested a determination from this Commission pursuant to Section 1512(a.5)(1) of the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (“Gaming Act”), 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a.5)(1). I.ISSUE: Whether service as an appointed judge of election or as minority inspector of stth election in the 1 ward 4 division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would bring an individual within the definition of the term “public official” as set forth in the Gaming Act at 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(b), and therefore cause such individual to be subject to the restrictions of the Gaming Act at 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2). II.FACTUAL BASIS FOR DETERMINATION: You request a determination from this Commission pursuant to Section 1512(a.5)(1) of the Gaming Act based upon the following submitted facts. You have applied for a gaming level 2 (G2) employee permit for a count room lead position at Valley Forge Casino. In connection with your application, you disclosed to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that you had been appointed to the position of judge of election for the 2012 election. In your request letter, you additionally note that you have served as minority inspector of election, but it is not clear from the submitted facts when that service occurred. You state that your appointment as judge of election for the 2012 election occurred at the last minute due to the sudden retirement of the previous judge of Campolongo, 13-2001 February 4, 2013 Page 2 election. You state that you will not be serving as judge of election in the future. You state that you have never served as a committee person. At the request of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Office of Enforcement Counsel, you seek a determination from this Commission as to whether service as an stth appointed judge of election or as minority inspector of election in the 1 ward 4 division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would bring you within the definition of the term “public official” as set forth in Section 1512(b) of the Gaming Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(b), and would therefore cause you to be subject to the restrictions of Section 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2) of the Gaming Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2). III.DISCUSSION: It is initially noted that determinations under Section 1512(a.5)(1) of the Gaming Act are issued by the State Ethics Commission to the requester based upon the facts that the requester has submitted. 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a.5)(1). In issuing the determination based upon the facts that the requester has submitted, the 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. Id. A determination only affords a defense to the extent the requester has truthfully disclosed all of the material facts. Id. Section 1512(b) of the Gaming Act defines the term “public official” as follows: “Public official.”-- The term shall include the following: (1) The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, a member of the Governor’s cabinet, Treasurer, Auditor General and Attorney General of the Commonwealth. (2) A member of the Senate or House of Representatives of the Commonwealth. (3) An individual elected or appointed to any office of a county or municipality that directly receives a distribution of revenue under this part. (4) An individual elected or appointed to a department, agency, board, commission, authority or other governmental body not included in paragraph (1), (2) or (3) that directly receives a distribution of revenue under this part. (5) An individual elected or appointed to a department, agency, board, commission, authority, county, municipality or other governmental body not included in paragraph (1), (2) or (3) with discretionary power which may influence or affect the outcome of an action or decision and who is involved in the development of regulation or policy relating to a licensed entity or who is involved in other matters under this part. The term does not include a member of a school board or an individual who held an uncompensated office with a governmental body prior to January 1, 2006, and who no longer holds the office as of January 1, 2006. The term includes a member of an advisory board or commission which makes recommendations relating to a licensed facility. Campolongo, 13-2001 February 4, 2013 Page 3 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(b). Paragraphs 1-2 of the above definition of the term “public official” clearly would not apply to you. Paragraph 3 of the definition would not apply to you because the positions of judge of election and inspector of election are not county or municipal offices. Judges of elections and inspectors of elections are “election officers” who are elected or appointed to election boards of election districts. See, 25 P.S. §§ 2602, 2671, 2675, 2705. Election districts are distinct from counties and municipalities. Therefore, for purposes of a Commission determination pursuant to Section 1512 of the Gaming Act, the positions of judge of election and inspector of election are not county or municipal offices, and paragraph 3 of the definition of the term “public official” would not apply to you. Based upon the submitted facts, paragraph 4 of the definition would not apply to you because there is no indication in the submitted facts that the election board of the stth 1 ward 4 division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has directly received a distribution of revenue under the Gaming Act. Paragraph 5 of the definition would not apply to you because the positions of judge of election and inspector of election would have no involvement in: (1) developing regulation(s) or policy(ies) relating to licensed entity(ies) under the Gaming Act; or (2) other matter(s) relating to the Gaming Act. The necessary determination of this Commission is that based upon the submitted facts, your service as an appointed judge of election or as minority inspector stth of election in the 1 ward 4 division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would not bring you within the definition of the term “public official” as set forth in Section 1512(b) of the Gaming Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(b), and therefore would not cause you to be subject to the restrictions of Section 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2) of the Gaming Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2). This determination is limited to addressing the specific question posed under Section 1512(a.5)(1) of the Gaming Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a.5)(1). IV.CONCLUSION: Based upon the submitted facts, your service as an stth appointed judge of election or as minority inspector of election in the 1 ward 4 division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would not bring you within the definition of the term “public official” as set forth in Section 1512(b) of the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (“Gaming Act”), 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(b), and therefore would not cause you to be subject to the restrictions of Section 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2) of the Gaming Act, 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a), (a.1) and (a.2). An individual who relies in good faith on a determination issued by this Commission as to such individual pursuant to Section 1512(a.5)(1) of the Gaming Act shall not be subject to any penalty for an action taken in reliance on the determination, provided that all material facts are accurately set forth in the request for a determination. This determination is a public record and will be made available as such. By the Commission, John J. Bolger Chair