Minutes October 16, 2018 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION October 16, 2018 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 17th 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, October 16, 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 J. Douglas Bennett Marisa A. Quinn, Vice Chair Arianne Corrente Robert A. Salk, Secretary M. Therese Antone The following Commissioner(s) were not present: John D. Lynch, Jr.; Timothy Murphy; and James V. Murray. 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: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on September 25, 2018. Upon motion made by Commissioner Bennett and duly seconded by Commissioner Quinn, it was VOTED: To approve the minutes of the Open Session held on September 25, 2018. AYES: Ross Cheit; J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; Marisa A. Quinn; and Robert A. Salk. ABSTENTIONS: M. Therese Antone. 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: Michael D. Fournier, a member of the North Smithfield Planning Board, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from participating in the Planning Board’s discussion and decision-making relative to a proposed development, given that he spoke with and provided a business card to a member of the development team. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. In response to Chair Cheit, the Petitioner explained that he learned that Mr. Boucher was a member of the development team two or three weeks following his interaction with Mr. Boucher and after an eyewitness had come forward. The Petitioner informed that he spoke with the Town Planner about the matter and has recused thus far but would like to participate in the Planning Board’s discussions and decision-making going forward. In response to Commissioner Salk, the Petitioner stated that the Planning Board meeting was conducted as a site visit of the development. Chair Cheit noted that the issue before the Commission was whether an actual business associate relationship existed between the Petitioner and Mr. Boucher under the Code of Ethics. Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that Mr. Boucher approached the Petitioner and the interaction occurred after the Planning Board meeting. Chair Cheit commented that the Petitioner did not intend to pursue a business associate relationship with Mr. Boucher. Commissioner Bennett commended the Petitioner for seeking an advisory opinion. Upon motionmade by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Antone, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Michael D. Fournier, a member of the North Smithfield Planning Board. The next advisory opinion was that of: Peter Friedrichs, the former Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Central Falls, requests an advisory opinion regarding the application of the “revolving door” provisions of the Code of Ethics, given that his new private employer may provide development services to a multi-institutional collaborative effort across three communities, including Central Falls, to improve conditions along Broad Street. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present along with Bianca Policastro, Vice President of The Policastro Group. Upon motion made by Commissioner Antone and duly seconded by Commissioner Quinn, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Peter Friedrichs, the former Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Central Falls. The final advisory opinion was that of: Thomas W. Kane, a Cumberland Town Council member, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from participating in the Town Council’s discussion and/or decision-making regarding a proposed ordinance relating to the use of tow service companies by the Cumberland Police Department, given that the Petitioner is also employed by the Town of North Providence and the son of the Mayor of North Providence operates a tow service company in the Town of Cumberland. Staff Attorney Radiches presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. In response to Chair Cheit, the Petitioner stated that due to an email that had circulated to Town Council members, he became aware of a potential issue. In further response to Chair Cheit, the Petitioner informed that the ordinance could not result in a disadvantage to the Mayor’s son’s business because he meets all the requirements and would not be removed from the list. In response to Commissioner Antone, the Petitioner stated that there are four companies on the list. In response to Commissioner Bennett, the Petitioner confirmed that the Town Council’s vote would be a status-quo vote with no dramatic changes. In further response to Commissioner Bennett, the Petitioner stated that the vote is a general one and the Town Council does not examine each tow company. In response to Chair Cheit, the Petitioner informed that Mayor Lombardi approached him to find out if the ordinance was going to be on the Town Council’s agenda. Commissioner Salk expressed concern over the Mayor approaching a Town Council member about his son’s business. Commissioner Bennett commented that this was an overall vote versus a vote specific to the Mayor’s son’s business. Chair Cheit agreed but also expressed concern over the Mayor approaching the Petitioner. Commissioner Corrente commented that the Petitioner cannot be faulted for the Mayor approaching him. Commissioner Bennett advised the Petitioner that if any votes are targeted at an individual enterprise, he should return for an advisory opinion. The Petitioner noted that he is not running for re-election but wanted to avoid any potential conflicts before he completes his term. Upon motion made by Commissioner Antone and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Thomas W. Kane, a Cumberland Town Council member. Executive Session. At 9:32 a.m., uponmotion made by Commissioner Antone and duly seconded by Commissioner Bennett, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: 1. Motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on September 25, 2018, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 2. In re: Gayle Corrigan, Complaint No. 2018-5, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 3. In re: Linda Carter, Complaint No. 2018-8, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 4. Motion to return to Open Session. At 10:56 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 (5-0) to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on September 25, 2018. [Reporter’s Note: The vote was as follows: AYES: Ross Cheit; J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; Marisa A. Quinn; and Robert A. Salk. ABSTENTIONS: M. Therese Antone.] 2. Voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Gayle Corrigan, Complaint No. 2018-5, to find that probable cause exists to believe that the Respondent failed to timely file a 2016 Financial Statement. Voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Gayle Corrigan, Complaint No. 2018-5, to find that probable cause exists to believe that the Respondent failed to timely disclose on her 2016 Financial Statement that her company, Management Resource Partners, Inc., did business with the Central Coventry Fire District. 3. Unanimously voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Linda Carter, Complaint No. 2018-8, to enlarge time for sixty days. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on October 16, 2018. Upon motion made by Commissioner Antone and duly seconded by Commissioner Quinn, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal the minutes of the Executive Session held on October 16, 2018. The next order of business was: Review of Exemption for Abraham Kovoor, Ph.D., pursuant to the R.I. Public/Private Partnership Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-59-26. Executive Director Gramitt discussed the history of this exemption. He informed that in 2003, the University of Rhode Island (“URI”) realized that it needed to formalize an exemption process to allow individuals to have a financial interest in their research and inventions. He explained that legislation was passed in 2003, the Public/Private Partnership Act, to allow the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education (“Council”), with the support of the Ethics Commission, to permit individual exemptions to enter into contracts and partnerships which allow the marketing of inventions developed by faculty and staff for the benefit of the faculty inventor and the educational institution. Executive Director Gramitt further explained that in 2005, the Ethics Commission approved procedures that were implemented by the Council’s predecessor agency for authorizing these exemptions. Executive Director Gramitt informed that Theodore Myatt, Director of Research Integrity at URI, was present to answer any questions or address any concerns. He explained that on September 6, 2018, the Council approved an exemption for Dr. Abraham Kovoor, an Associate Professor at URI, to lease space at the University to house his pharmaceutical research. Executive Director Gramitt noted that the Council has complied with the procedural requirements for granting said exemption. In response to Chair Cheit, Executive Director Gramitt stated that the Commission has not, to date, referred a matter back to the Council. Chair Cheit noted that this process favors transparency. The Commission took no action, which allows the exemption to take effect. The next order of business was: Director’s Report: Status report and updates. a.) Complaints and investigations There are six substantive complaints pending. The Commission Staff will be filing 2017 non-filing complaints in November, after the election. b.) Advisory opinions There are five advisory opinions pending. c.) Financial Disclosure Discussion of online public access to financial disclosure statements, and the compliance rates for 2017 and candidate filings relative to 2018 elections Executive Director Gramitt informed that the online access project is on schedule. He stated that the vendor informed him that the design has been completed and the Staff will be testing the program this week. He further stated that if there are no issues with the program, it will go live between November 1 and November 6, 2018. Executive Director Gramitt informed that the Staff is notifying the public regarding online access. He stated that NBC 10, the Providence Journal, the Public’s Radio, and WPRI have run articles and segments on this matter. He stated that one more notice will be sent to all filers and that Commissioners Quinn and Corrente have been assisting him in drafting the language of the notices to explain why the Commission is launching an online program for access to financial disclosure statements. Executive Director Gramitt informed that the compliance rate for 2017 filings has peaked at 98%. He added that 4,400 persons filed financial statements, including candidates. He commented that the Commission Investigators and Financial Disclosure Officer, Michelle Berg, have worked hard to help achieve this level of compliance. Chair Cheit extended gratitude to these Staff members and made particular note of the contributions of Ms. Berg to the administration of Financial Disclosure. d.) Access to Public Records Act requests since last meeting Seventeen APRA requests were received since the last meeting, all of which were granted within one business day. Executive Director Gramitt noted that 14 of those requests were for financial statements. Executive Director Gramitt informed the Commission that the Coalition for Integrity, a Washington, DC-based organization, recently released a report ranking all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to the strength of their ethics laws and regulations. He stated that the rankings were measured on a scale of 1 to 100 and were based on surveys conducted and a review of each jurisdiction’s ethics laws. He explained that the Coalition for Integrity published a S.W.A.M.P. Index, “The States with Anti-Corruption Measures for Public officials,” for scoring all states. Executive Director Gramitt informed that Rhode Island and California ranked #2 with a score of 75, and Washington State was #1 with a score of 78. Chair Cheit commented that he wished the study would consider the use of investigators in its ranking, a factor that sets the Rhode Island Ethics Commission apart from the many state commissions that do not utilize investigators. Commissioner Bennett commended Executive Director Gramitt and his Staff and stated they instill confidence in him as he sits on this Commission. Chair Cheit extended gratitude to the Staff. Executive Director Gramitt explained that education initiatives are also underway and that Staff Attorney/Education Coordinator Radiches is putting together a list of each municipality, when it received its last ethics training, and when it will receive future training. In response to Chair Cheit, Executive Director Gramitt stated that Fire Districts will be included in this list. The final order of business was: New Business. Chair Cheit stated that the Commission will elect its officers at the next meeting. He informed that he will likely not remain on the Commission for another full year due to other responsibilities and commitments. He further informed that he will be happy to step aside and remain a Commissioner until he resigns or to continue his service as the Chair of the Commission until his resignation and replacement. At 11:18 a.m., upon motion made and duly seconded, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ Robert A. Salk Secretary