HomeMy WebLinkAbout81-514 MillerSTATE ETHICS COMMISSION
308 FINANCE BUILDING
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120
February 23, 1981
ADVICE OF COUNSEL
Stanley A. Miller, Commissioner 81 -514
Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
Department of State
Harrisburg, PA 17120
RE: Employees Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
Dear Commissioner Miller:
This responds to your letter of October 29, 1980 in which
you, as a Commissioner in the Bureau of Professional and
Occupational Affairs (hereinafter Bureau) requested an Opinion
from the Ethics Commission.
Issue: In your letter you request Advice as to whether a
person employed by the Bureau of Professional and Occupational
Affairs may also serve as a secretary to one of the licensing
boards the Bureau assists.
Facts: Your letter states that the Bureau of Professional and
Occupational Affairs is an administrative agency staffed by
individuals hired under the terms of the Civil Service Law.
Within the Bureau are twenty -two separate licensing boards
composed of professionals from the licensed profession and
public members. These boards are empowered by the Admini-
strative Code, 71 P.S. §1 et seq., to select a secretary who
need not be a member of the board. The boards often choose a
Bureau employee as their secretary.
Discussion: An employee of the Bureau must avoid conflicts of
interest and the appearance thereof as set forth in Act 170.
While the conduct of Bureau employees must comport with
this requirement of the Ethics Act the statute does not prohibit
a Bureau employee from serving as secretary to a licensing
board. An individual holding those two positions is not in an
inherent conflict of interest.
The Ethics Act, however, prohibits any public employee
from using his or her public employment or any confidential
information gained through his or her public employment to
obtain financial gain for himself or herself or a member of his
Stanley A. Miller, Commissioner
February 23, 1981
Page 2
or her immediate family. The Commission does not believe,
however, that this section of the Act bars a Bureau employee
from acting as secretary to a licensing board.
Hiring, firing, and discipline of Bureau employees, even
those who are selected to serve as secretaries to boards, is of
course, ultimateley governed by the Bureau subject to applicable
Civil Service Law and collective bargaining agreements.
Conclusion: The employment of a Bureau employee as secretary
to a licensing board is not per se violative of the conflict of
interest provisions of the Ethics Act. Any Bureau employee
serving a licensing board as a secretary may not use his or her
public employment or confidential information obtained while in
public employment for his or her personal financial gain or for
the benefit of his or her immediate family or the business with
which he or she may be associated.
Pursuant to Section 7(9)(ii), this Advice is a complete
defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commis-
sion, and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or
criminal proceeding, providing the requestor has disclosed
truthfully all the material facts and committed the acts
complained of in reliance on the Advice given.
This letter is a public record and will be made available
as such.
Finally, if you disagree with this Advice or if you have
any reason to challenge same, you may request that the full
Commission review this Advice. A personal appearance before
the Commission may be scheduled and a formal Opinion from the
Commission will be issued. You should make such a request or
indicate your disapproval of this Advice within the next 30
days.
Sincerely,
SW /rdp
andra S.`Ch4stianson
General Counsel