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HomeMy WebLinkAbout227-R NooneMr. James F. Noone 1105 Woodlawn Street Scranton, PA 18509 Re: Order No. 227; File No. 83 -116 -C Dear Mr. Noone: STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 RECONSIDERATION ORDER OF COMMISSION January 6, 1984 No. 227 -R Letter dated 1/27/84 from General Counsel is also part of this Order. This refers to the Petition for Reconsideration you presented on August 29, 1983, with respect to the above- captioned Order issued on August 24, 1983 pursuant to 51 Pa. Code 2.38. The discretion of the State Ethics Commission to grant reconsideration is properly invoked, pursuant to our regulations, 51 Pa. Code 2.38(b) when: (b) Any party may ask the Commission to reconsider an order within 15 days of service to the order. The person requesting reconsideration should present a detailed explanation setting forth the reason why the order should be reconsidered. Reconsideration may be granted at the descretion of the Commission only where any of the following occur: (1) a material error of law has been made; (2) a material error of fact has been made; (3) new facts or evidence are provided which would lead to reversal or modification of the order and where these could not be or were not discovered previously by the exercise of due diligence. The State Ethics Commission, having reviewed your request for reconsideration, find that none of these circumstances are present. Specifically, although our Order finds you are currently serving as a member of the State Board of Private Correspondence Schools, you state that you resigned as of June 30, 1983. Assuming this to be the case, it would not affect our ruling that you were required to file a disclosure statement for the calendar year 1981 because is undisputed tht you served on the Board during 1981 and 1982 and thus were required to file a Statement by May 1, 1982. This is not a material error of fact. Mr. James F. Noone January 6, 1984 Page 2 Also, you state that as a Board member you were paid only for travel expenses and you may have rejected the per diem allotment authorized by statute. Even assuming this to be the case we are persuaded that as a matter of law, your filing was required. You cannot unilaterally remove yourself from the class of "public officials" required to file a Financial Interests Statement by voluntarily forgoing this per diem payment. Your Petition, in this respect does not point out a material error of law. Finally, you state this Board does not have the power to expend public monies and, therefore, its members should not be considered "public officials" required to file Financial Interest Statements. Our findings and discussion as to the powers and duties of this Board are sufficient to support our conclusion that its members are included within the category of "public officials" and your argument to the contrary are not sufficient to convince us that material error of law has been made in so ruling. Therefore, the State Ethics Commission concludes that your request for reconsideration must be DENIED. The Order referred to above having been redated is accordingly, hereby reissued. This Order and this decision denying reconsideration are final and shall be made immediately available as public documents. EMS /rdp By the Commission, Q Paul J. C'm`i"th Chairman Mr. James F. Noone 110 Woodlawn Street Scranton, PA 18509 RE: Order No. 227 Dear Mr. Noone: RED /rdp MadLng Address STATE ETHICS COMMISSION P.O. BOX 1 179 HARRISBURG, PA 17108 TELEPHONE: (717) 783 -1610 January 27, 1984 This acknowledges the receipt of your Financial Interest Statement on January 17, 1984. The Order of the State Ethics Commission, however, is final and public and has been referred to the Office of the Attorney General for their review and possible action,. I suggest you contact their office at Strawberry Square, 16th Floor, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 17120. However, I am forwarding a copy of this letter and your Financial Interest Statement to the Office of the Attorney General for their consideration and will make a copy of this letter part of the public Order in this case. cc: Robert Keuch, Dep. Attorney General Si cerely, Sandra S. Ch stianson General Counsel State Ethics Commission • 308 Finance Building • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania