Minutes January 26, 2016 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION January 26, 2016 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 2nd meeting of 2016 at 9:00 a.m. at the Rhode Island Ethics Commission conference room, located at 40 Fountain Street, 8th Floor, Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, pursuant to the notice published at the Commission offices, the State House Library, and electronically with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The following Commissioners were present: Ross Cheit, Chair Timothy Murphy M. Therese Antone Marisa A. Quinn Mark B. Heffner Also present were Edmund L. Alves, Jr., Commission Legal Counsel; Kent A. Willever, Commission Executive Director; Katherine D’Arezzo, Senior Staff Attorney; Jason Gramitt, Education Coordinator/Staff Attorney; Staff Attorneys Teresa Giusti and Amy C. Stewart; and Commission Investigators Steven T. Cross, Peter J. Mancini and Gary V. Petrarca. At 9:13 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on January 12, 2016. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Heffner, it was VOTED: To approve minutes of the Open Session held on January 12, 2016. AYES: Mark B. Heffner; Marisa A. Quinn; Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: M. Therese Antone; Timothy Murphy. The next order of business was: Advisory Opinions. The advisory opinion was based on a draft advisory opinion prepared by Commission Staff for review by the Commission and was scheduled as an item on the Open Session Agenda for this date. The only advisory opinion was that of: Sharon Turner, the Probation & Parole Training Officer and Intern/Volunteer Coordinator for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, requesting an advisory opinion regarding whether she is prohibited by the Code of Ethics from working in her private capacity as a facilitator of a batterer intervention program at Rhode Island Batterer’s Intervention Program. Staff Attorney Stewart presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. Upon motion made by Commissioner Antone and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Sharon Turner, the Probation & Parole Training Officer and the Intern/Volunteer Coordinator for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. The next order of business was: Director’s Report. Executive Director Willever reported that there were four (4) advisory opinions and six (6) complaints pending, two (2) of which were staff-initiated complaints for the failure to timely file financial disclosure statements. He stated that six (6) APRA requests were granted since the last meeting, five (5) of which were completed within one (1) business day. The next order of business was: Review of Exemption pursuant to the R.I. Public/Private Partnership Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-59-26. Staff Attorney Gramitt presented a request for exemption under the Public/Private Partnership Act (“Act”) for Walter Besio, Ph.D. Ted Myatt, Director of the Office of Research Integrity at the University of Rhode Island (“URI”) was present on behalf of URI. Staff Attorney Gramitt stated that, pursuant to the Act, the Council on Postsecondary Education has reviewed and approved Dr. Besio’s request and forwarded it to the Ethics Commission for review. He advised that the Commission is not required to take any action on this matter. The Commission took no action. The next order of business was: Legislative Update. Staff Attorney Gramitt presented the first legislative update for the 2016 legislative session. He stated that it is still early in the session and, therefore, there is only one bill to report on at this time. He reported that Senator Edward J. O’Neill has introduced S2060, which is the same bill that has been put forth each year since the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s decision in Irons. He stated that Senator O’Neill’s bill would restore the Commission’s pre-Irons jurisdiction over the General Assembly. He noted that the Commission has consistently supported this bill in previous sessions. Staff Attorney Gramitt noted that he expected a bill to be introduced by Senator James C. Sheehan in the coming weeks, the so-called compromise legislation on restoring the Commission’s jurisdiction over the General Assembly. In response to Commissioner Heffner, Staff Attorney Gramitt stated that prior iterations of Senator Sheehan’s bill included a provision for a jury trial or a trial de novo on appeal from a decision of the Ethics Commission. Commissioner Heffner stated that the average state legislator is concerned that restoring the Commission’s jurisdiction over them would inhibit their ability to speak on the floor on a particular issue. He suggested that, with respect to any compromise, the Commission should focus on the issue of speech, public versus lobbying, rather than the process by which Commission decisions are appealed. Discussion ensued. Chair Cheit stated that he would like to continue this discussion when more Commissioners are present, perhaps at more than one meeting. Staff Attorney Gramitt stated that he expected to be able to present both Ethics bills to the Commission at the next meeting for further discussion. The next order of business was: Executive Session. At 9:35 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Quinn, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: 1. Motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on January 12, 2016. 2. In re: Frank Hyde, Complaint No. NF2015-5, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 3. In re: Jessica A. Lineberger, Complaint No. NF2015-7, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 4. In re: William J. McLaughlin, Complaint No. NF2015-8, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 5. In re: Charles A. Collins, Jr., Complaint No. 2016-1, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 6. In re: Donald J. Lally, Jr., Complaint No. 2015-7, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). The Commission reconvened in Open Session at approximately 9:51 a.m. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal the minutes of the Executive Session held on January 26, 2016. The next order of business was: Report on Actions Taken in Executive Session. Chair Cheit reported that the Commission took the following actions in Executive Session: 1. Voted to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on January 12, 2016. [Reporter’s note – The vote was as follows: AYES: Mark B. Heffner; Marisa A. Quinn; Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: M. Therese Antone; Timothy Murphy.] 2. In the matter of In re: Frank Hyde, Complaint No. NF2015-5, unanimously voted (5-0) to find that probable cause exists to believe that the Respondent violated the Code of Ethics as alleged in the Complaint. 3. In the matter of In re: William J. McLaughlin, Complaint No. NF2015-8, unanimously voted (5-0) to find that probable cause exists to believe that the Respondent violated the Code of Ethics as alleged in the Complaint. 4. Unanimously voted (5-0) to initially determine that the facts alleged in In re: Charles A. Collins, Jr., Complaint No. 2016-1, if true, are sufficient to constitute a knowing and willful violation of the Code of Ethics and authorized an investigation. 5. Unanimously voted (5-0) to grant a Motion to Enlarge Time, First Extension, in the matter of In re: Donald J. Lally, Jr., Complaint No. 2015-7. [Reporter’s note: The Commission took no action in the matter of In re: Jessica A. Lineberger, Complaint No. NF2015-7, because it had been settled.] The final order of business was: New Business First, in reference to Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s appointment of a Chief Innovation Officer who is to be paid with private funds, Chair Cheit questioned whether this person would be subject to the Code of Ethics. Staff Attorney Gramitt replied that the Code of Ethics’ jurisdiction is limited to state and municipal elected and appointed officials and employees. Thus, he explained that if the position in question is a state employee position then the person would be subject to the Code of Ethics. However, he noted that if the position is that of an independent contractor, even if the terms of employment required the person to abide by the Code of Ethics, such a contract provision would not give the Commission jurisdiction. Second, Chair Cheit asked if the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) allows a Commissioner to phone into or video conference into a meeting when, like today, there were difficulties with getting a quorum. Legal Counsel Alves replied that OMA does not allow it except if a person could not attend a public meeting because of disability. Commissioner Murphy distributed to the Commission a proposal to amend the Code of Ethics relative to restricting General Assembly members from owning or being employed by a business entity that derives any of its revenue or income by engaging in lobbying. He requested that it be put on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting. Chair Cheit asked Commission staff to review Commissioner Murphy’s proposal and prepare some comments for discussion. Commissioner Quinn suggested considering both Commissioner Murphy’s proposal and other options to amend the Code. Commissioner Murphy had no objections to broadening the discussion. In response to Commissioner Heffner, Chair Cheit also asked Legal Counsel Alves to provide some input on Commissioner Murphy’s proposal as well as any other ideas with respect to amending the Code of Ethics. Commissioner Heffner noted that, while the Commission may promulgate regulations, any statutory amendments would have to be submitted to the General Assembly. Chair Cheit directed Commission staff to schedule this matter for an upcoming meeting. At 10:04 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Antone and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn. Respectfully submitted, __________________ Robert A. Salk Secretary