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HomeMy WebLinkAbout81-597 VanderlinMailing Address. STATE ETHICS COMMISSION P.O. BOX 1 179 HARRISBURG, PA 1710; TELEPHONE: (717) 783-1610 August 11, 1981 ADVICE OF COUNSEL O. William Vanderlin, Esquire McNerney, Page, Vanderlin & Hall 433 Market Street, P.O. Box 7 Williamsport, PA 17701 RE: Financial Interest Statements Dear Mr. Vanderlin: 81 -561 This responds to your communication of April 21 1981 originally addressed to Robert C. Wilburn, Secretary of Budget and Administration and the State Ethics Commission. Issue: In this correspondence you questioned whether you fall within the category of "public official" required to file a Financial Interest Statement under the State Ethics Act. Facts: You serve as a member of the Prevailing Wage Appeals Board in the Department of Labor and Industry. The Prevailing Wage Appeals Board according to our research is established in accordance with the Prevailing Wage Act, 43 P.S. 165 -2.2. This Board is created for the purpose of hearing and deter- mining grievances arising out of the administration of the Prevailing Wage Act. The members of the Board, except for the member employed by the Secretary of Labor and Industry, are appointed by the Governor and receive compensation of $30 per day for each day of actual service plus necessary expenses. The Board has the power and the duty to hear and determine grievances or appeals arising out of the administration of the Act, to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the duties placed upon the Board by this Act. State Ethics Commission • 308 Finance Building • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 0. William Vanderlin, Esquire August 11, 1981 Page 2 Discussion: The State Ethics Act requires that all "public employees" and "public officials" file E'inancial Interest Statements for each year in which they hold office by no later than May 1 of the year in which they hold office and of the year after that individual leaves such a position. See Section 4 of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 404(a). This filing requirement applies to all persons considered to be "public employees" and "public official." The definition of "public official" as set forth in the Act is as follows: Any elected. or appointed official in the Executive, Legislative, or. Judicial branch of the State or any political subdivision thereof, provided that it shall not include any member of advisory boards that have no authority to expend public funds other than the reimbursement for personal expense, or to other wise exercise the power of the state or any political subdivision thereof. 'Public official' shall not include any appointed official who receives no compensation other than reimbursement for actual expenses. 65 P.S. 401. From the above-referenced statutorily delegated responsi- bilities, the Prevailing Wage Appeals Board appears to have the ability to make final, appealable determinations arising out of the administration of the Prevailing Wage Act. In addition, the Appeals Board has the power and duty to promul- gate rules and regulations necessary to carry out'the duties of the Board under this Act. It seems clear from these responsibilities that this Board is not merely advisory in its function or its responsibilities. Therefore, the members of the Prevailing Wage Appeals Board may not be excluded under the first provisions -of the definition set forth above. • In addition, even though the members are appointed, they do receive compensation other than actual expense reimbursement. Therefore, there appears to be no reason to exclude members of the Prevailing Wage Appeals Board from the definition of "public official." This latter conclusion is derived from the fact that the regula- tions promulgated by the Commission exclude from the defini- tion of "public official" only those appointed officials who receive no compensation other than reimbursement for actual expenses. See 51 Pa. Code 1.1. O. William Vanderlin, Esquire August 11, 1981 Page 3 Conclusion: As a member of the Prevailing Wage Appeals Board you must be considered a "public official" within the definition of that terry. as it appears in the Ethics Act. As such, you are required to file a Financial Interest State- ment. A Financial Interest S,.atement is included with this Advice. You should file this Statement within 15 days of receipt of this Advice. Please file the original copy with the Department of Labor and Industry and submit F. copy to the State Ethic., Commission. to verify compliance with this ruling. Retain. the remaining copy for your records. Pursuant to Section 7(9) (ii) , this Advice is a cot.ot'lete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by ' h.e Commission, and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or 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. SSC /rdp Enclosure cc: Charles Sciotto William Kennedy Richard A. Himler Sincerely, i i , Sandra S. ' ristianson General Counsel