Minutes April 9, 2019 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION April 9, 2019 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 5th meeting of 2019 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, April 9, 2019, 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 Marisa A. Quinn, Vice Chair Robert A. Salk Arianne Corrente, Secretary Emili B. Vaziri The following Commissioner(s) were not present: M. Therese Antone and J. Douglas Bennett. Also present were Herbert F. DeSimone, Jr., Commission Legal Counsel; Jason Gramitt, Commission Executive Director; Katherine D’Arezzo, Senior Staff Attorney; Lynne Radiches, Staff Attorney/Education Coordinator; Staff Attorneys Teresa Giusti and Teodora Popova Papa; and Commission Investigators Steven T. Cross; Peter J. Mancini; and Gary V. Petrarca. At 9:05 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Administration of Oath of Office to Emili B. Vaziri. Chair Cheit administered the Oath of Office to Commissioner Vaziri. The next order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on March 26, 2019. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Salk, it was VOTED: To approve the minutes of the Open Session held on March 26, 2019. AYES: Ross Cheit; Arianne Corrente; Marisa A. Quinn; and Robert A. Salk. ABSTENTIONS: Timothy Murphy and Emili B. Vaziri. The next order of business was: Advisory Opinions. The advisory opinions were based on draft advisory opinions prepared by Commission Staff for review by the Commission and were scheduled as items on the Open Session Agenda for this date. The first advisory opinion was that of: Kelly Morris, the Solicitor for the Town of Cumberland, requests an advisory opinion regarding what limitations, if any, the Code of Ethics places upon her in the exercise of her official duties, given that her fiancé/household member plans to appear before the Cumberland Board of Licenses to request a Victualling House License. Staff Attorney Radiches presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Quinn, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Kelly Morris, the Solicitor for the Town of Cumberland. The next advisory opinion was that of: Edward Burbank, Chairperson of the Manville Fire District Board of Wardens, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from continuing his service on the Board and what restrictions, if any, the Code of Ethics places upon him if the Manville Fire District Charter is amended to convert the position of Tax Collector/Treasurer from elected to appointed, given that his spouse currently holds the elected position of Tax Collector/Treasurer and could potentially be appointed to the position by the Board. Staff Attorney Popova Papa informed that the Petitioner could not be present. Before presenting, she stated that the Petitioner emailed her regarding a correction to the draft advisory opinion. She explained that the Tax Collector/Treasurer reports directly to the taxpayers and not the Tax Assessor as currently reflected on the first page of the opinion. Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that the advisory opinion will be amended to remove said language and that doing so does not alter the legal analysis. In response to Commissioner Quinn, Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that, as the Chair, the Petitioner is involved in revising the Charter. Chair Cheit inquired as to the role of the General Assembly in approving changes to the Charter. Executive Director Gramitt informed that a fire district cannot exercise taxing authority without legislation. Commission Corrente stated that the General Assembly reviews the Board’s proposed changes and the ratepayers then vote to finally approve the Charter revisions. In response to Commissioner Murphy, Staff Attorney Popova Papa noted that the Petitioner did not inquire as to whether he could participate in the discussion to convert the Tax Collector/Treasurer position from elected to appointed but only whether he can continue to serve on the Board if the position is converted. She informed that his participation in the discussion, if any, would constitute past conduct that cannot be addressed in an advisory opinion. Staff Attorney Popova Papa further informed that any such participation on the Petitioner’s part would not necessarily violate the Code of Ethics. Executive Director Gramitt explained that any changes to the Tax Collector/Treasurer position will take effect after the Petitioner’s spouse’s term expires and, in the interim period, she may or may not run for reelection or prevail in an election. Chair Cheit expressed concern that the advisory opinion as drafted could be construed as representing the Commission’s blessing on the Petitioner’s past conduct. Legal Counsel DeSimone advised that the advisory opinion could be amended to add a sentence that the Petitioner did not raise that question and it was not addressed in the opinion. Chair Cheit noted that the Petitioner has many issues to keep in mind going forward. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, as amended and attached hereto, to Edward Burbank, Chairperson of the Manville Fire District Board of Wardens. The final advisory opinion was that of: Edward J. Brady, a member of the Cranston City Council, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether he may participate in the City Council’s discussions and voting relative to enacting an ordinance which would impose a ban on the use of plastic carryout bags by Cranston business establishments, given the fact that the Petitioner owns and operates a restaurant in Cranston. Executive Director Gramitt informed that the Petitioner could not be present due to a business conflict and presented the Commission Staff recommendation. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Edward J. Brady, a member of the Cranston City Council. Executive Session. At 9:34 a.m., uponmotion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: 1. Motion to approve minutes of Executive Session held on March 26, 2019, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). 2. In re: Philip Bongiovanni, Complaint No. NF2018-1, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). 3. In re: Neil Hall, Complaint No. NF2018-14, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). 4. In re: Paige Spink, Complaint No. NF2018-2, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). 5. Motion to return to Open Session. At 9:54 a.m., the Commission reconvened in Open Session. 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 (4-0) to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on March 26, 2019. [Reporter’s Note: The vote was as follows: AYES: Ross Cheit; Arianne Corrente; Marisa A. Quinn; and Robert A. Salk. ABSTENTIONS: Timothy Murphy and Emili B. Vaziri.] 2. Unanimously voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Philip Bongiovanni, Complaint No. NF2018-1, that probable cause exists to believe that the Respondent violated R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16 by failing to timely file a 2017 Financial Disclosure Statement with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission. 3. In re: Neil Hall, Complaint No. NF2018-14, was continued to the next meeting at the request of the Respondent. 4. Unanimously voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Paige Spink, Complaint No. NF2018-2, that probable cause exists to believe that the Respondent violated R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16 by failing to timely file a 2017 Financial Disclosure Statement with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on April 9, 2019. 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 April 9, 2019. The next order of business was: Director’s Report: Status report and updates. Executive Director Gramitt welcomed Commissioner Vaziri. He stated that there may be a new Commissioner to fill the remaining vacancy by the next meeting. He explained that if a meeting agenda is short, he confers with Chair Cheit to determine if the meeting should be canceled. Executive Director Gramitt further explained that because the March 9, 2019 meeting was canceled, and the summer is approaching during which only one meeting per month is scheduled, it was decided to hold today’s meeting to avoid any backlog. a.) Complaints and investigations There are eight complaints pending, which includes five conflict matters and three non-filing complaints. The Decisions and Orders in In re: Francis X. Flaherty and In re: James C. Cournoyer will be issued soon. b.) Advisory opinions There are five advisory opinions pending. c.) Access to Public Records Act requests since last meeting Eight APRA requests were received since the last meeting, seven of which were granted within one business day, which means the same day, and one required research and redaction. d.) Discussion of 2018 Financial Disclosure, due April 26, 2019 April is the busiest month for the Commission Staff. More than 4,000 financial disclosure statements were recently mailed, and the volume of phone calls has significantly increased. Executive Director Gramitt informed that a temp has been hired to assist with filing completed statements. Executive Director Gramitt noted that paper financial statements are accessible online within 48 hours, while electronic filings become immediately accessible. He informed that all statements must be filed by April 26, 2019, and one additional email reminder will be distributed before the deadline to those whose email addresses are in the Commission’s database. In response to Commissioner Quinn, Executive Director Gramitt stated that the new online system for accessing financial statements is functioning well, but we will learn more after the filing deadline passes. He informed that, in the past, the Staff received media requests for all filings, which the Staff would provide on a CD. He stated that overall, the volume of requests has decreased since the implementation of the new online system. He further stated that the online system has been working well and the IT vendor has been very cooperative and supportive. The final order of business was: New Business. There being no new business, at 10:01 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ Arianne Corrente Secretary