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HomeMy WebLinkAbout81-598 PrinceMarshall S. Prince 5076 Stacey Drive East Apartment 202 Harrisburg, PA 17111 Mailing Address. STATE E' T'HICS COMMISSION P.O. BOX 1 179 HARRISBURG, PA 17108 TELEPHONE: (717) 783 -1610 August 10, 1981 ADVICE OF COUNSEL 81-598 RE: Representation, Restrictions Dear Mr. Prince: This responds to your communication of June 18, 1981. Issue: In that communication you requested advice from the State Ethics Commission regarding your duties and responsi- bilities under the Ethics Act as a former. Program Analyst with the Liquor Control Board (LCB). Facts: You indicate that you are presently considering seeking employment outside of state government with private industry. One of the sources of potential employment would be to utilize your expertise in the physical distribution of wine and spirits products and you are considering the wine and spirits industry as a source of potential employment. You are currently employed as a Program Analyst in the Program Planning and Evaluation Group of the LCB. In that position you have acquired expertise in the area of distri- bution of liquor and wine products. You are fourth in the chain of command under the Executive Director of the LCB. The Executive Director, of course, is responsible to the three members of the LCB. Any potential employment which you might consider may include from time -to -time, contact with employees of the LCB, to solicit information, correct problems, attend industry meetings, etc. State Ethics Commission • 308 Finance Building • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Marshall S. Prince August 10, 1981 Page 2 Discussion: The State Ethics Act requires that any "former public employee" upon termination of service with the Commonwealth must conform his conduct to the requirements of the Ethics Act. These requirements include complying with the provisions of Section 1 of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 1, which requires that any appearance of a conflict of interest be avoided and Section 3(e) of the Ethics Act, 65 P,S. 403(e) which provides that: No former official or public employee shall represent any person, with cr without compensation, on any matter before the governmental body with which he has been associated for one year after he leaves that body. 65 P.S. 403 (e; . Basically, the Commission has determined that the concept of "governmental body" with which an individual may have been associated while employed with the Commonwealth is that entity with which he or she may have had exerted "influence." In your case your description of your job appears to limit your responsibilities and therefore your "ability to influence" to the LCB. Accordingly, you may not represent any person with or without compensation before the LCB for the one year period following your termination of service with the Commonwealth. Such prohibition against representation will avoid even the appearance of impropriety. The term "representation" has also been further inter- preted by opinions of the Commission. Specifically, this term has been held to preclude, for the one year period, the following activities: 1. Personally appearing before the LCB, including but not limited to negotiations on contracts; 2. Attempting to influence that body; 3. Participating in any manner in a specific case, matter or contract, over which you had supervision, direct involvement or responsibility while employed with the LCB; 4. Lobbying, that is, representating the interest of any person before the LCB as to legislation, regulations, etc. See Morris, 80 -039 and Russell, 80 -048; 5. Signing and submitting under your own signature proposals, contracts, or other items to the LCB; Marshall S. Prince August 10, 1981 Page 3 6. Including your name on a bid proposal as an individual who would be involved in administering any contract to provide technical assistance which is subject to the proposal referenced in Number 5 above. See Dalton, 80 -- 056 and Kilareski, 80 -054. while these restrictions must be imposed in order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, you may engage in the following activities° A. You may administer, rather than negotiate any cwit:rPct that is to be awarded to any future employer or client by the LCB so long as that contract is awarded without your name being included as noted in Items Number 5 and 6 above. B You may :make general informational inquiries of the LCB so long as no attempt is made to influence the LCB as noted above. C. You may utilize the knowledge and expertise gained during your tenure as a public employee vis -a -vis consulting clients, new employers, etc. except as set forth above. You may appear and represent any person on behalf of a.nv client or new employer before any govern - mental body other than the LCB except as set forth in Number 3 above. E. You may attend industry meetings generally within the parameters of the prohibitions set forth in Numbers 1 - 6 above. Conclusion: In order to be in full compliance with the Ethics Act your conduct should be guided by this Advice. The prohibitions and activities allowable are noted above and should be met. Pursuant to Section 7(9)(ii), this Advice is a complete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commission, and evidence cf 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. Marshall S. Prince August 10, 1981 Page 4 Finally, if you disagree with this Advice or if yo°i 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 cc: David E. Kerr, Executive Director Liquor Control Board Sincerely, Sandra S. ► ristianson General Counsel