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Home My WebLink About1st Quarter 2024 INDEX State Ethics Commission Quarterly Rulings for First Quarter 2024 ADVICES (Ethics): 24-500 (Logsdon): 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 borough council member with regard to the individual’s company performing IPMC, building code, and zoning services for the borough. 24-501 : 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 person serving as a Member of the \[Governing Body\] of the \[Political Subdivision\], who in a private capacity is a Member of the Board of Directors of a non-profit corporation named the \[Entity\], with regard to voting on: (1) a \[Political Subdivision\] budget which includes a line item for a \[Type of Payment\] in \[a Certain Amount\] to the \[Entity\]; or (2) a bill list which includes the \[Type of Payment\] in \[the Certain Amount\] to the \[Entity\]. 24-502 (Mozer): 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 city mayor would have a conflict of interest with regard to participating in matters before the city pertaining to a non-profit organization that has been provided with city-owned property for the purpose of building low income based homes, if the individual, in his private capacity, would lease office and storage space in a building which he owns to the non-profit organization. 24-503 (Wills): Re: Whether an individual serving as a borough council member would have a conflict of interest pursuant to 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 quarterly dispersal of borough funds allocated to a fire company for fire protection, suppression, and rescue - 1 - services, where the individual serves as a part-time volunteer firefighter with the fire company. 24-504 (Fye): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would prohibit an individual serving as a Member of Council for Loganton Borough from simultaneously serving as the Secretary of the Board of the Loganton Sewer Authority. 24-505 (Hill): Re: Whether, as the newly elected Controller for Lower Saucon Township (“Township”), 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 performing the duties of your public position, when: (1) in a private capacity, you are a Member of the Board of Directors of Citizens for Responsible Development- LST, an organization which opposes the proposed expansion of a landfill located in the Township; (2) the Township is currently a defendant in four legal actions filed in court by residents opposed to expanding the landfill; (3) Citizens for Responsible Development- LST provides funds to help pay the legal expenses of the residents who are involved in the four legal actions filed against the Township; and (4) you live approximately three miles away from the landfill, and you would not be affected personally by an expansion of the landfill. 24-506-(Domenick): Re: Whether, following termination of your service as a County Commissioner for Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, the post-employment restrictions of Section 1103(g) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(g), would prohibit you from: (1) practicing law and appearing before Judges of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas and Magisterial District Judges of the Magisterial Districts within Lackawanna County; or (2) being employed as an attorney with the Lackawanna County Public Defender’s Office or in some other capacity with Lackawanna County. 24-507 (McGhee): 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 an individual who has been elected as a township supervisor from purchasing scrap metal - 2 - from the township for his scrap company to process and sell to steel mills. 24-508: 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 \[Governmental Body 1\] with regard to appearing before \[Governmental Body 1\] or \[Governmental Body 2\] at a public meeting in his private capacity as a citizen and speaking or providing written comment with respect to the merits of \[Certain Projects\] that abut properties owned in part by his \[Immediate Family Member 1\] or \[Immediate Family Member 2\]. 24-509 (Shelhammer): 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 Board Member of the North and South Shenango Joint Municipal Authority (“Authority”), who in his private capacity, owns and operates Shellhammer Brothers Excavating & Trucking, Inc. (“Company”), which provides services and products to the Authority for compensation. 24-510 (Lund): 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 performing work for your new employer, a national architect/engineering consulting firm, following termination of your employment as a Deputy General Manager (Operations and EM&C) with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (“SEPTA”). 24-511 (Chapman): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose any prohibitions or restrictions upon you following your service as the Acting Deputy Secretary for Information Technology for the Governor’s Office from November 11, 2022, through July 22, 2023, and as the Senior Advisor to the Chief Information Officer of the Office for Information Technology (“OIT”) within the Governor’s Office of Administration (“OA”) from July 23, 2023, through January 12, 2024. - 3 - 24-512 (Eckerd): 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 performing work for a consultant following termination of your employment as a Transportation Construction Manager 2 with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (“PennDOT”). 24-513: 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 a \[Political Subdivision Governing Body\] with regard to participating in meetings or votes of the \[Political Subdivision Governing Body\] pertaining to the final \[Type of Plan\] for a \[Commercial Establishment\] or \[Certain Reviews\], \[Certain Approvals\], and other matters involving the final \[Type of Plan\] for the \[Commercial Establishment\], where the \[Commercial Establishment\] would be built in close proximity to the residence of the \[Political Subdivision Governing Body Member\] and her \[Relative\] and the \[Political Subdivision Governing Body Member’s\] \[Relative\] participated in litigation that unsuccessfully opposed the \[Commercial Establishment\] project. 24-514: (Mustachio): Re: Whether a borough council member would have a conflict of interest pursuant to Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), with regard to making or seconding a motion and voting to appoint his son as the borough fire chief, where his son would receive compensation in the amount of $50 per month for serving as the borough fire chief. 24-515 (Wolski): 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 who owns two part-time short- term rentals in the township with regard to voting on a proposed resolution that would cap the number of short-term rental permits issued by the township at ten percent of the number of residences in the township. 24-516: 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 - 4 - individual serving as a Member of \[Governmental Body 1\], who also serves as a Member and \[Officer\] of \[Governmental Body 2\], with regard to participating in \[Governmental Body 1’s\] review of the \[Type of Plan\] for a project (“the Project”) that would abut the individual’s property. 24-517 (Colyer): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101, et seq., would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon you with regard to being appointed as a Member of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Commission, where in a private capacity, you own a local towing company that handles calls for towing and roadside assistance services from police officers of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department. 24-518 (Epstein): Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would prohibit an individual serving as a School Director for Central Dauphin School District from simultaneously serving as a Member of the Board of the Dauphin County Authority. 24-519 (Foster Johnson): 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 township supervisor would have a conflict of interest with regard to performing the duties of his public position, where in a private capacity, the individual is employed with one of the township’s fuel vendors. 24-520 (Reasinger): 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 city mayor with regard to performing the duties of his public position, where: (1) in a private capacity, the individual is the owner of a commercial printing company that prints the real estate tax bills for the county in which the city is located, provides printing services to businesses which supply the city with other types of services, and has provided printing services to the city in the past; and (2) the individual’s wife operates a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that rescues cats in the city and is budgeted to receive a donation from the city. - 5 - OPINIONS (Ethics): 24-001: Re: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon the \[Pennsylvania Officer\] with regard to accepting a paid position on the governing board of a \[Type of Company\]. ORDERS (Ethics): 1829 (Capobianco): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1830 (Powers): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission 1831 (McDevitt): Re: This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission S-ORDERS (Ethics): 779-S (Boris): Re: This is a final adjudication of the Pennsylvania 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. 780-S (Porter): Re: This is a final adjudication of the Pennsylvania 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. 781-S (Bartha): Re: This is a final adjudication of the Pennsylvania 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. - 6 - S-ORDERS (Lobby): 165-SL:(Urbane Devel.): Re:This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or deficiency of 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.” - 7 -