Minutes June 5, 2018 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION June 5, 2018 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 11th meeting of 2018 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, June 5, 2018, 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 John D. Lynch, Jr. J. Douglas Bennett Timothy Murphy Arianne Corrente James V. Murray The following Commissioner(s) were not present: M. Therese Antone; Marisa A. Quinn, Vice Chair; and Robert A. Salk, Secretary. Also present were Herbert F. DeSimone, Jr., Commission Legal Counsel; Jason Gramitt, Commission Executive Director; Katherine D’Arezzo, Senior Staff Attorney; Staff Attorneys Teresa Giusti and Teodora Popova Papa; and Commission Investigators Steven T. Cross; Peter J. Mancini; and Gary V. Petrarca. At 9:00 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on May 15, 2018. Upon motion made by Commissioner Bennett and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was VOTED: To approve the minutes of the Open Session held on May 15, 2018. AYES: J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; John D. Lynch, Jr.; and Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: Timothy Murphy and James V. Murray. 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: Joseph P. da Silva, Ph.D., AIA, REFP, a School Construction Coordinator and Architectural Design Reviewer for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from working, on his own time and in his private capacity, for a private architectural firm in Massachusetts. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. In response to Commissioner Bennett, the Petitioner stated that the architectural firm does not have any plans in place to provide services in Rhode Island. Upon motionmade by Commissioner Murray and duly seconded by Commissioner Lynch, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Joseph P. da Silva, Ph.D., AIA, REFP, a School Construction Coordinator and Architectural Design Reviewer for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The next advisory opinion was that of: The Honorable Donna M. Nesselbush, a legislator serving in the Rhode Island Senate, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether she may participate in the legislative process regarding proposed legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations applicable to civil actions alleging sexual abuse, given that her private law office represents one or two clients who would potentially benefit from the law, should it pass. Executive Director Gramitt presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. In response to Chair Cheit, Executive Director Gramitt explained that the class consists of attorneys who practice or might practice personal injury law, specifically sexual abuse cases, and victims. In response to Chair Cheit, Commissioners Murray and Lynch noted that the class of attorneys who practice personal injury law in Rhode Island is large, and Commissioner Lynch noted that this group includes attorneys who refer personal injury cases to other attorneys but still receive a share of the fees. Commissioner Murphy expressed concern over the conflict between applying the class exception to this matter and the appearance of impropriety if the Petitioner participates in the passage of this legislation as it has the potential to create a significant impact. Chair Cheit commented that issues concerning appearances of impropriety are endemic to part-time legislators who have other employment. Upon motionmade by Commissioner Lynch and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to The Honorable Donna M. Nesselbush, a legislator serving in the Rhode Island Senate. AYES: J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; John D. Lynch, Jr., James V. Murray; and Ross Cheit. NOES: Timothy Murphy. The next advisory opinion was that of: Wendy Allmendinger, a probation and parole officer at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits her from working in her private capacity as a facilitator at Rhode Island Batterers Intervention Program. Staff Attorney Giusti presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. In response to Chair Cheit, Staff Attorney Giusti stated that the Petitioner understood the opinion and would have attended this meeting but had a work conflict. Chair Cheit commented that if the Petitioner accepted this job with Rhode Island Batterers Intervention Program, she would unavoidably refer cases to her employer. Upon motionmade by Commissioner Murray and duly seconded by Commissioner Lynch, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Wendy Allmendinger, a probation and parole officer at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. The next advisory opinion was that of: Kristine S. Trocki, a member of the Jamestown Town Council, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether she may participate in the Town Council’s discussion and decision-making relative to an increase in the amount of the tax exemption available for veterans, given that her spouse is eligible for and receives the existing tax credit. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. She explained that this and the next advisory opinion to be considered involve similar facts. In response to Chair Cheit, Staff Attorney Popova Papa explained that there are 385 residents receiving tax credits. She further explained that the 385 veterans are comprised of 308 veterans and disabled veterans and a group of widows/widowers. In response to Commissioner Bennett, Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that there is no indication that the Petitioner caused this issue to come before the Town Council. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Murray, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Kristine S. Trocki, a member of the Jamestown Town Council. The final advisory opinion was that of: Eugene B. Mihaly, a member of the Jamestown Town Council, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether he may participate in the Town Council’s discussion and decision-making relative to an increase in the amount of the tax exemption available for veterans, given that he is eligible for and receives the existing tax credit. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. Staff Attorney Popova Papa explained that the facts are similar to those presented in the prior advisory opinion for Kristine S. Trocki. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murray and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Eugene B. Mihaly, a member of the Jamestown Town Council. Executive Session. At 9:32 a.m., uponmotion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: 1. Motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on May 15, 2018, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 2. In re: Linda Carter, Complaint No. 2018-8, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 3. Motion to return to Open Session. The Commission reconvened in Open Session at 9:36 a.m. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on June 5, 2018. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Murray, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal the minutes of the Executive Session held on June 5, 2018. 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 May 15, 2018. [Reporter’s Note: The vote was as follows: AYES: J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; John D. Lynch, Jr.; and Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: Timothy Murphy and James V. Murray.] 2. Unanimously voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Linda Carter, Complaint No. 2018-8, to initially determine that the facts alleged in the Complaint, if true, are sufficient to constitute a knowing and willful violation of the Code of Ethics and to authorize an investigation. The next order of business was: Announcement concerning annual review and vote re: Legal Counsel’s contract, scheduled for June 19, 2018, and discussion thereon. Chair Cheit informed that the Commission will be voting at its next meeting on June 19, 2018, on renewing Legal Counsel’s contract. Chair Cheit stated that Legal Counsel DeSimone has represented that he is interested in continuing his service as Legal Counsel. The next order of business was: Announcement concerning Executive Director’s annual review scheduled for June 19, 2018, and discussion thereon. Chair Cheit stated that he and the Vice Chair will meet with the Executive Director after the Commission meeting on June 19, 2018, with the purpose of looking forward to the next year’s goals and review. Director’s Report: Status report and updates. Executive Director Gramitt informed that: a.) Complaints and investigations There are nine (9) complaints pending. All 2016 non-filing complaints have been resolved. The Staff is preparing to send reminder letters to the 2017 non-filers. b.) Advisory opinions There are sixteen (16) advisory opinions pending. c.) Financial Disclosure Thus far, the Commission Staff has received 3,512 filings which translate into an 88% compliance rate. The percentage of online filers remains at 85%, but represents a 2% increase over last year’s online filings. The Staff is working on addressing financial disclosure issues, both statutory and regulatory, as one ethics reform measure. The Staff will prepare and present proposals to the Commission for its guidance. d.) Regulations Conversion of regulations to statewide RICR format. The Commission Staff has completed the conversion of Commission regulations to the new RICR format required of all state agencies. It is anticipated that at the next meeting advisory opinions presented will cite to the new regulation numbers with footnotes serving as references to the former regulation numbers. The Staff is now preparing to file draft versions of Regulation 1006 with the Secretary of State’s Office with a date certain for conducting a public workshop. e.) Legislation Status of 2018 H 8042, an Act to require online access to all financial disclosure statements. The bill passed the House and has been sent to the Senate Judiciary, but no hearing date has been scheduled. When a date is scheduled, Executive Director Gramitt will attend and take the same position as he did before the House Judiciary, not objecting to online access but noting privacy and cost concerns. In response to Commissioner Lynch, Executive Director Gramitt informed that mandatory online filing would be easier because hybrid filing involves a two-part process: the Commission’s vendor would upload a digitized version of the financial disclosure statement, and the Staff would scan and upload those statements filed in hard copy format. In response to Chair Cheit, Executive Director Gramitt stated that the number of those who continue to file paper statements likely represents those who are uncomfortable with doing anything online. Executive Director Gramitt noted that the rate for paper filers seems to be decreasing at a rate of 2% per year. He further stated the Commission may wish to consider making financial disclosure statements available online even if the bill does not pass. In response to Chair Cheit, Executive Director Gramitt informed that there was some discussion regarding security risks in the House, but no amendments were proposed. Chair Cheit asked that Executive Director Gramitt report back on developments of this bill. f.) Personnel, including job posting for Staff Attorney IV Executive Director Gramitt informed that more than 30 applications have been received. Executive Director Gramitt, Senior Staff Attorney D’Arezzo, and Chief Investigator Cross will serve on a panel that will review the applications and conduct interviews. g.) Access to Public Records Act requests Twenty (20) APRA requests were received since the last meeting all of which were granted. The final order of business was: New Business. There was no new business. At 10:55 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ Robert A. Salk Secretary