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Home My WebLink About3rd Qtr 2017 INDEX State Ethics Commission Quarterly Rulings for Third Quarter 2017 ADVICES (Ethics): 17-542 (Cessna): 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 Transportation District Executive following termination of employment with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”). 17-543: 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 an A for \[name of political subdivision\] (“the Political Subdivision”) with regard to voting on matter(s) involving the type or B of a C that the Political Subdivision would D on an E that the Political Subdivision would F from the \[name of volunteer fire company\] (“the Fire Company”) on a G, if the individual would join the Fire Company as an H. 17-544: Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose prohibitions or restrictions with regard to the hiring of an A individual for a B, C, D position of employment with the E of the F, where such position would be underwritten by a G H organization for \[a particular length of time\]. 17-545: Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon employment of an A following termination of employment with Commonwealth Department B. . 17-546 (Ordich): 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 employed as an office clerk for a borough, who also serves as the tax collector for the borough, with regard to simultaneously serving as a member of council for the borough. - 1 - 17-547 (Mann): 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 of the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council--which reports to the Secretary of Labor and Industry of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and provides advice and counsel to the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation within the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry--if a policy research organization with which the individual is employed as a senior researcher would be engaged to perform work for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. 17-527 (Ferguson): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon employment of an Assistant Highway Maintenance Manager following termination of employment with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”). 17-548 (Rosenfeld): 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 simultaneously serving as a part-time county deputy sheriff and a constable. 17-549 (Stedman): 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 commissioner with regard to voting to rezone a property for the purposes of future commercial development, where the property is owned by the father-in-law of the daughter of the city commissioner. 17-550 (Ferson): Re: Whether, pursuant to Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., an individual who would be elected as a borough council member would have a conflict of interest with regard to performing the duties of her public position, where: (1) the individual’s husband is employed as a police officer for the borough; (2) the individual’s father-in-law is a public works employee for the borough; and (3) the individual’s son is an on-call warden for the borough. 17-551 (Pritzker): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., - 2 - would impose restrictions upon employment of a Legislative Counsel following termination of service with a Member of the Council (“City Council”) of the City of Philadelphia (“City”). 17-552 (Cocuzza): 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 of a regional police commission, who also serves as the trustee of a pension fund overseen by the regional police commission, with regard to placing some of his private investments under the management of the firm that manages the pension fund. 17-553 (Kulpa, Jr.): 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 Right-of-Way Administrator 3 following termination of employment with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”). 17-554 (Turner): 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 secretary/treasurer with regard to simultaneously serving as a worker at the borough- owned community pool. 17-555: Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would require A to disclose on his Statement of Financial Interests—as gifts, transportation, lodging or hospitality—Bs and Cs that were D by E or by F to A’s G but were promptly declined by him or his H. 17-556 (Schimizzi): 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 both: (1) a Member of the Board of Directors of the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority; and (2) the Manager of the Penn Township Sewage Authority, would have a conflict of interest in either of his aforesaid capacities with regard to participating in discussions, negotiations, or votes on an amendment to the service agreement between the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority and its member municipalities, where such amendment may impose - 3 - obligations upon the Penn Township Sewage Authority as to the construction of certain sanitary sewer infrastructure. 17-557 (Schimizzi): 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 both: (1) a Member of the Board of Directors of the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority; and (2) a Member of the Board of the Penn Township Sewage Authority, would have a conflict of interest in either of his aforesaid capacities with regard to participating in discussions, negotiations, or votes on an amendment to the service agreement between the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority and its member municipalities, where such amendment may impose obligations upon the Penn Township Sewage Authority as to the construction of certain sanitary sewer infrastructure. 17-558 (Roebuck): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon employment of the Deputy Executive Director of the City of Philadelphia (“City”) Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity following termination of employment with the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity. 17-559 (Windisch): 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 (the “Individual”) employed as a Senior Civil Engineer Manager with the Pennsylvania Department of PennDOT (“PennDOT”) with regard to starting a GoFundMe campaign in the name of a member of the Individual’s immediate family (the Individual’s “Immediate Family Member”) in order to help with the payment of medical expenses of the Individual’s Immediate Family Member, where: (1) donors to the GoFundMe campaign would be people or organizations which know the Individual’s Immediate Family Member; and (2) such donors might include firms with which the Individual works in the performance of his job duties with PennDOT. 17-560 (Smith): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., - 4 - would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a County Commissioner for Lycoming County (“County”), Pennsylvania, with regard to participating in the County’s decision-making process for selecting the successful respondent to a County Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to provide professional services in connection with the operation of a court-affiliated, County-funded day treatment program, where: (1) the County Commissioner is a Member of the Board of Directors of a non-profit corporation named “Firetree Place”; (2) Firetree Place was created with the assistance of a non-profit corporation named “Firetree, Ltd.”; (3) Firetree Place and Firetree, Ltd. are separate entities with separate boards of directors, staff, addresses, and missions; (4) Firetree Place did not participate in the County’s RFP process with regard to the aforesaid professional services; and (5) Firetree, Ltd. is one of various entities that submitted responses to the County RFP. 17-561 (Dively): 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 Public Health Program Administrator following termination of employment with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. 17-562 (McTiernan): 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 human resources director for a school district with regard to participating in negotiations pertaining to a new collective bargaining agreement between the school district and the bargaining unit for the school district’s teachers, where the fiancé of the human resources director is employed as a tenured teacher with the school district and is a member of the bargaining unit. 17-563 (Richter): 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 Senior Civil Engineer Manager following termination of employment with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”). 17-564 (Hafner, II): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., - 5 - would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon a Pennsylvania State Senator, who in his private capacity as an attorney has a law firm that he operates as a sole practitioner, with regard to becoming associated with a law firm owned by his father, where the Philadelphia Parking Authority is a client of his father’s law firm. 17-565 (Goodley, Jr.): 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 township supervisor with regard to voting on the appointment and compensation of the township solicitor and other matters related to the financial interests of the township solicitor, if the individual, in his private capacity as an attorney, would sublease office space from the law firm of which the current township solicitor is a member. 17-566 (Klein): 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 county solicitor with regard to simultaneously serving as an appointed, part-time assistant district attorney with the county office of the district attorney. ORDERS (Ethics): 1714 (Mutter): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1715 (Bullers): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1716 (Reedy): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1717 (Similo): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1718 (Bechdel): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission - 6 - ORDERS (Lobbying): 3-L (UFCWL 1776): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission. 4-L (Young IV): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission. - 7 -