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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4th Qtr 2019 INDEX State Ethics Commission Quarterly Rulings for Fourth Quarter 2020 ADVICES (Ethics): 18-560 (Rizzo): 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”). 20-536 (Leeper): 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 for the Indiana Area School District (“School District”), who is employed as a Speech-Language Pathologist with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (“IUP”), with regard to working on a speech-language pathology research study conducted in collaboration between the School District and IUP, where: (a) such research study would examine various aspects of speech- language services/treatment within the School District; (b) the individual would not receive any pay or monetary benefit for working on such research study; and (c) the individual might be credited by name for working on/being part of such research study. 20-537 (Avolio): 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 Chairman of the Board of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (“Municipal Authority”) with regard to participating in vote(s) of the Municipal Authority Board pertaining to projects or other matters of/before the Municipal Authority if his wife would become either a subcontractor to or a part-time employee of the Municipal Authority’s engineering firm. 20-538 (Martin): 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 - 1 - township supervisor with regard to voting on legal issues or other matters involving his stepdaughter. . 20-539: 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 Agency B. 20-540 (Baker): 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 who authored and published a book entitled “The Pennsylvania Constitution: The United States Constitution, The Declaration of Independence & Other Facts About the ‘Keystone State’” with regard to continuing to offer such book for sale if the individual would be elected as a Pennsylvania State Senator. 20-541 (Novad): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon the Secretary/Treasurer for Bessemer Borough with regard to simultaneously serving as a Member of the Board of the Bessemer Municipal Authority. 20-542 (Korman): Re: Whether, in your former capacity as a Member of the Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial (which commission is also known—and is hereinafter referred to—as America250PA), you would be considered a "public official" subject to the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (the "Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., and the Regulations of the State Ethics Commission, 51 Pa. Code § 11.1 et seq., and particularly, the requirements for filing Statements of Financial Interests. 20-543: 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 A of Unit B within Commonwealth Agency C following termination of Commonwealth employment. 20-544 (Miranda): 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 Deputy Warden for the City of Philadelphia - 2 - Department of Prisons (“City Department of Prisons”) following termination of employment with the City Department of Prisons. 20-545: Re: Whether, for purposes of applying the post- termination restrictions of Section 1103(g) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(g), the governmental body with which a certain former A for the Political Subdivision B C (the “C”) would be deemed to have been associated would be limited to the C or would extend beyond the C to include additional Political Subdivision B \[types of governmental bodies\], if the former position in question did not include employment by or appointment to any such governmental bodies outside of the C itself. 20-546: 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 and B of a \[type of political subdivision\] C with regard to voting on a land development plan or other land development submission(s) involving a developer’s proposed development, where the individual’s \[type of relative\] owns a property that the developer would purchase and develop as part of the proposed development. 20-547 (Hasler): 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 chairman of a township board of supervisors with regard to participating in discussions or votes of the township board of supervisors on budget allocations, a tax to generate revenue to pay for fire services, or other matters pertaining to a volunteer fire company, where the individual is: (1) a member and the fire chief of the volunteer fire company; and (2) an appointed fire marshal. 20-548 (Housholder): 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 on a three-member township board of supervisors with regard to voting to break a tie vote of the other two township supervisors on the - 3 - appointment of the individual’s wife as the township secretary. 20-549: Re: Whether, as an A for a B of the C, you would be considered 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 Commonwealth employment, the restrictions of Section 1103(g) of the Ethics Act would be applicable to you. 20-550 (Michael): 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 who retired from employment with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”) on January 24, 2020, with regard to being appointed to the State Transportation Commission, where the individual would not accept any compensation in relation to such appointment until after January 24, 2021. 20-551 (Miller): 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 commissioner with regard to: (1) seeking election as a constable within the township while also seeking reelection as a township commissioner; or (2) simultaneously serving as a township commissioner and a constable elected within the township. 20-552: 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 Agency B. 20-553 (Cottle): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose restrictions upon an individual who was employed as an Engineering, Scientific, and Technical Intern with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”) from May 2019 to August 2019 and from June 2020 through August 2020 with regard to accepting an internship with a firm known as “Dewberry” for the summer of 2021. - 4 - OPINIONS (Ethics): 20-001: Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon \[name and title\] (the “Public Official”), with regard to having a non-fiction book published regarding his personal life and career, where: (1) the Public Official would receive payment(s)/compensation for having the book published, including an advance and potential royalties based on book sales; (2) portions of the book would encompass the Public Official’s experiences as a public official; (3) the book would include chapters discussing the Public Official’s service in public office including issues that the Public Official faces now; (4) the book would relate public policy positions the Public Official held during his career in the private sector to present controversies in which he has been involved; and (5) the book would include decisions the Public Official has made while in office. 20-002 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 Pennsylvania General Assembly (“State Legislator”)--specifically a Member of Chamber A--with regard to serving on the Board of Directors of a for-profit \[type of private entity\] (“Private Entity”) and participating in its operations; and if the State Legislator would be permitted to serve on the Board of Directors of the Private Entity and participate in its operations, whether it would be permissible for: 20-003 (Valentine): Re: Whether an individual who is a Pennsylvania Certified Sewage Enforcement Officer (“SEO”), and who previously provided SEO services to three particular townships (the “Townships”) in Pennsylvania as an employee of a private engineering firm (“Firm”) with which he is no longer associated, would be considered a “former public official” of the Townships, and therefore subject to the restrictions of Section 1103(g) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(g), where: (1) each Township appointed the Firm as SEO, with one Township naming the individual as “the specific officer” in its approved motion; (2) an SEO is - 5 - an “official” of the local agency(ies) served, 35 P.S. § 750.2; and (3) by law, where a local agency—such as a township—contracts with a company or corporation for SEO services, it has a duty to adopt by resolution a list of the individual SEOs employed by the company or corporation to perform SEO services, 35 P.S. § 750.8(b)(2.1). OPINIONS (Lobby): 20-1001 (Simpson): Re: Whether the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s provision of continuing legal education (“CLE”) credit to a public official/public employee for the teaching of a CLE course would be reportable on the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s quarterly expense report filed pursuant to Pennsylvania’s lobbying disclosure law (the “Lobbying Disclosure Law”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 13A01 et seq. ORDERS (Ethics): 1776 (August): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1777 (Wilkinson): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission ORDERS (SFI): 666-S (Geiger): 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. 667-S (Hoppes-Gorosh): 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. 668-S (Smith): 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 - 6 - 1105 of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq.\\ 669-S (Reed): 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.\\ 670-S (Rinier): 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.\\ 671-S (Jackson): 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.\\ 672-S (Willis): 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.\\ 673-S (Curcie): 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.\\ 674-S (Baines): 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.\\ 675-S (Jefferson): 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 - 7 - 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.\\ 676-S (Staton): 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.\\ 677-S (Howze): 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 (Lobby): 147-SL (P.H.C.O.): 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.” - 8 -