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Home My WebLink About4th Qtr 2024 INDEX State Ethics Commission Quarterly Rulings for Fourth Quarter 2024 ADVICES (Ethics): 24-577 (Gruenloh): Re: Whether, as a Member of the Planning Commission of Clifton Township (“Township”), Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, you would have a conflict of interest under Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), with regard to participating in discussions or votes of the Township Planning Commission pertaining to an individual’s conditional use application that seeks approval to develop a bed and breakfast inn on property located in close proximity to your property. 24-566: Re: Whether, pursuant to Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), an individual serving as a \[Political Subdivision\] \[Official\] would have a conflict of interest with regard to voting on the enactment of an ordinance that would establish a \[Type of Tax\] in the \[Political Subdivision\], where: (1) the \[Political Subdivision Governing Body\] is considering whether the \[Political Subdivision\] tax collector should be compensated for collecting a \[Type of Tax\] if one would be established; (2) any compensation for the \[Political Subdivision\] tax collector for collecting a \[Type of Tax\] would need to be authorized by a \[Political Subdivision\] ordinance or resolution; (3) the individual’s \[Relative\] is the elected tax collector for the \[Political Subdivision\]; and (4) the individual’s \[Relative\] has recommended that the \[Political Subdivision\] tax collector not be compensated for collecting a \[Type of Tax\] due to the small amount of work that would be involved in its collection. 24-567 (Heller): Re: Whether, pursuant to Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), an individual serving as a borough council member would have a conflict of interest with regard to participating in discussions or votes of borough council pertaining to the placement - 1 - of a school resource officer in a school district’s public school located in the borough, where: (1) in a private capacity, the individual has a security business; (2) in the past, the security business has mailed information to the school district, other school districts, and businesses to notify them about its services; and (3) the security business is no longer interested in providing any school districts with its services. 24-568 (Baker-Smith): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon an individual with regard to performing work for his new employer, Versant Strategies, LLC, following termination of his employment as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 24-569 (Finnigan): Re: Whether, if you would resign from your position as a Member of the Northampton County Tax Collection Committee (“Tax Collection Committee”), the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would permit you to serve as the Executive Director of the Tax Collection Committee in the capacity of an independent contractor to the Tax Collection Committee. 24-570: Re: Whether two individuals serving as \[Political Subdivision\] \[Officials\], each of whom owns property located within a \[Political Subdivision\] \[District\], would have a conflict of interest under Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), with regard to voting on the repeal of a uniform \[Type of Tax\] that is levied on every property located within a \[Political Subdivision\] \[District\]. 24-571: Re: Whether, following termination of your employment with the \[Political Subdivision\] as the \[Position\], the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon you with regard to engaging in activities as the \[Executive Position\] of an \[Entity\] controlled by the \[Political Subdivision Official\]. 24-572 (Stedman): Re: Whether, pursuant to Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), a township supervisor, whose \[Relative\] is employed part-time with a company that - 2 - operates \[Various Facilities\] in the township, would have a conflict of interest with regard to participating in discussions, votes, or other actions of the township board of supervisors pertaining to land development matters involving or affecting the company. 24-753 (Vaughn): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would prohibit you from accepting employment with a firm that has matters before the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”) following termination of your service with PennDOT as an annuitant under the 95-day “return to state service” provision at 71 Pa.C.S. § 5706(A.1). 24-574: Re: Whether, as a \[Position 1\] with the \[Unit\] of the \[Commonwealth Governmental Body\], you are a “public employee” subject to the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., and the Regulations of the State Ethics Commission, 51 Pa. Code § 11.1 et seq., such that upon termination of your employment with the \[Commonwealth Governmental Body\], the post- employment restrictions of Section 1103(g) of the Ethics Act — which apply to former public officials/public employees — would be applicable to you. 24-575 (Grobes): Re: Whether Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), pertaining to conflict of interest, would prohibit the hiring of the son of a member of a regional police commission for a position as a part- time police officer with the regional police department. 24-576 (Davis): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon you with regard to working for an investment manager or other type of entity that does business with the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (“PSERS”) following termination of your service as a Member of the PSERS Board of Trustees. OPINIONS (Ethics): 24-002): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., - 3 - would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon \[Person\], \[Officer\] of \[the Governmental Unit\] \[(“the Officer”)\], with regard to accepting royalties or another form of remuneration for authoring and having published a book on \[a Topic\], where: (1) the book would focus on \[Certain Matters\]; (2) the book would include an examination of some of the key \[Types of Decisions\] made by \[the Officer\] and a discussion of \[a Particular Matter\]; (3) the book would include discussion of events and experiences related to \[the Officer’s\] public service in prior public positions; (4) the book would include discussion of \[the Officer’s\] political activity and \[Types of Experiences\]; and (5) the book would not include discussion of events pertaining to \[the Officer’s\] work and service as \[the Officer\] beyond references to that position as a mere “backdrop,” consistent with this Commission’s past decisions. ORDERS (Ethics): 1840 (Raymond): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1841 (Dalmas): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1842 (Kean Staab): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission - 4 -