HomeMy WebLinkAbout2nd Qtr 2014
INDEX
State Ethics Commission
Quarterly Rulings for Second Quarter 2014
ADVICES (Ethics):
14-514:
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an
individual serving as a school director, who in a
private capacity is an occasional employee of an
entity which provides A to other entities, with regard
to: (1) performing services on behalf of the entity as a
B in the school district; or (2) participating as a school
director in matter(s) pertaining to a contract between
the school district and the entity.
14-515 (Musewicz):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
borough council member, who in a private capacity is
the president of a booster club, with regard to voting
on the award of a contract to upgrade borough land
which the booster club would be permitted to use for
community-based youth softball programs.
14-516 (Auslander):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
township commissioner, whose fiancée is a candidate
for the position of township secretary, with regard to:
(1) participating in discussions or actions involving the
selection of an individual to serve as the township
secretary; (2) participating in discussions or votes on
expenditures or disciplinary actions involving the
township secretary; or (3) participating in discussions
or votes on the township budget, where the township
budget would or in the alternative would not contain a
separate line item for the township secretary’s salary
and benefits.
14-517 (Crabtree):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
member of the board of a municipal authority with
regard to being retained by the municipal authority to
serve as the on-site inspector of a new municipal
building project.
14-518:
Re: Whether, pursuant to the Public Official and
Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101
et seq., an individual who would resign from being an
A in a law firm upon commencing service as a B of
Governmental Body C within Commonwealth
Department D would have a conflict of interest with
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regard to participating in or voting on matters before
Governmental Body C pertaining to such law firm, its
clients, companies related to its clients, or legal
issues in which the individual had been involved on
behalf of a law firm client.
14-519 (Frack):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
member and vice chairman of a township board of
supervisors, who is also an employee of an airport
authority, with regard to voting on a subdivision plan,
a land development plan, or other matters involving
property owned by the airport authority.
14-520:
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an
individual serving as a school director, who in a
private capacity is an A of a company that provides
fundraising opportunities for various organizations,
with regard to such company entering into fundraising
arrangements with groups affiliated with the school
district; and whether the restrictions of Section 1103(f)
of the Ethics Act (pertaining to contracting) would
apply to such fundraising arrangements.
14-521 (Procopio):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics
Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would
impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an individual
with regard to serving as a school director for a school
district, where the individual is employed as a
paralegal for an attorney who is the solicitor for the
school district.
14-522 (Howard):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a city
mayor with regard to receiving reimbursement for
reasonable and actual expenses incurred for
performing marriage ceremonies.
14-523 (Anewalt):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
borough tax collector with regard to collecting a ten
dollar fee for tax certifications and tax duplicates and
fees for checks returned for insufficient funds where
the borough would enact an ordinance authorizing
such fees.
14-524 (Wolovich):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an
individual serving as a member and vice president of
a borough council with regard to contracting to act as
a consultant to a non-profit corporation in his private
capacity, where the individual would be providing
consulting services on matters pertaining to a grant
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awarded to the non-profit corporation in relation to a
redevelopment project in the borough.
14-525 (Pierce):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an
individual serving as a member and president of a
borough council with regard to participating in
matter(s) involving an amendment to the borough
zoning ordinance that would increase the density of
housing development permitted on certain tracts of
land within the borough, where: (1) in a private
capacity, the individual is an attorney with a general
practice in which he has represented various
developers; (2) the individual has in the past
represented a builder who is one of the partners in the
developer that is seeking the amendment and that
might desire to build housing on tract(s) of land which
would be affected by the amendment; and (3) the
individual has been consulted in his private practice
by an owner of a tract of land that might be affected
by the amendment with regard to issues unrelated to
the amendment.
14-526 (Hoptak-Solga):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
borough council member, whose mother currently
serves as the borough treasurer and the borough tax
collector, with regard to voting on matters pertaining
to the borough treasurer or the borough tax collector.
14-527 (Gormley):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose restrictions upon employment of a
Human Resources Development Specialist 2
following termination of employment with the
Pennsylvania Department of Community and
Economic Development (“DCED”).
14-528 (Fox):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an
individual serving as the Deputy Director of the
Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority
(“Authority”) with regard to performing the duties of his
public position, where: (1) in a private capacity, the
individual is the majority owner of an IT services firm
(“Business 1”) that partners with larger firms to pursue
federal IT contracts; (2) the three minority owners of
Business 1 also own a company (“Business 2”) that
has provided contract staff to the Authority as a
subcontractor to a vendor and has worked with
certified Health Information Service Providers on sub-
grants awarded by the Authority; (3) two of the three
minority owners of Business 1 also own another
company (“Business 3”) that provides services to
Business 1 and Business 2; (4) prior to being
appointed as the Deputy Director of the Authority, the
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individual provided services to the Authority as an
employee of Business 2; and (5) the individual has
done work as a consultant for Business 3.
OPIONIONS (Ethics):
14-005 (Fodi):
Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee
Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.,
would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a
township supervisor with regard to participating in
negotiations and voting on a Marcellus Shale gas
lease for township owned properties where: (1) the
supervisor either has a current lease with, or is or
may be negotiating a lease with, Marcellus Shale gas
entity(ies) for his private property; or (2) a business
owned by the supervisor has previously had direct or
indirect business dealings involving Marcellus Shale
drilling entity(ies).
DETERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION:
14-2002 (Hatfield):
Re: Whether service as a Member of the North
East Borough Civil Service Commission would bring
an individual within the definitions of the terms
“executive-level public employee” or “public official” as
set forth in the Gaming Act at 4 Pa.C.S. §§ 1103,
1512(b), and therefore cause him to be subject to the
restrictions of the Gaming Act at 4 Pa.C.S. § 1512(a),
(a.1) and (a.2).
ORDERS (Ethics):
1632 (Fennell Scheid):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission
1633 (Simon):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission
1634 (Fahnestock):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission
1635 (Broadwater):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission
1637 (Fidler):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission
1638 (Moyer):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission
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ORDERS (SFI):
424-S (Ford):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of Statement(s) of Financial Interests
required to be filed pursuant to Sections 1104 and
1105 of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act
("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.
425-S (Chriswell):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of Statement(s) of Financial Interests
required to be filed pursuant to Sections 1104 and
1105 of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act
("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.
426-S (Johnson):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of Statement(s) of Financial Interests
required to be filed pursuant to Sections 1104 and
1105 of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act
("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.
ORDERS (Lobbying):
063-SL (A.of A.P.S.):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of registration statement(s) and/or expense
report(s) required to be filed pursuant to
Pennsylvania’s lobbying disclosure law, 65 Pa.C.S. §
13A01 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the
“Lobbying Disclosure Law.”
064-SL (Frank. Square):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of registration statement(s) and/or expense
report(s) required to be filed pursuant to
Pennsylvania’s lobbying disclosure law, 65 Pa.C.S. §
13A01 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the
“Lobbying Disclosure Law.”
065-SL (Neiman Group):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of registration statement(s) and/or expense
report(s) required to be filed pursuant to
Pennsylvania’s lobbying disclosure law, 65 Pa.C.S. §
13A01 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the
“Lobbying Disclosure Law.”
st
066-SL (31 St. Studios):
Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics
Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or
deficiency of registration statement(s) and/or expense
report(s) required to be filed pursuant to
Pennsylvania’s lobbying disclosure law, 65 Pa.C.S. §
13A01 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the
“Lobbying Disclosure Law.”
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