Advisory Opinion No. 2019-21 Rhode Island Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 2019-21 Approved: March 26, 2019 Re: Donald Fox QUESTION PRESENTED: The Petitioner, a member of the Burrillville Town Council, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from lobbying on behalf of the Rhode Island Firearm Owners’ League. RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a member of the Burrillville Town Council, a municipal elected position, is not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from lobbying on behalf of the Rhode Island Firearm Owners’ League, provided that he does not lobby the Burrillville Town Council or any other agency for which he is the appointing authority. The Petitioner is a member of the Burrillville Town Council (“Town Council”). He represents that he was offered an unpaid lobbying position with the Rhode Island Firearm Owners’ League (“League”), a private entity “formed to provide a consistent and unified voice, dedicated to defending the Second Amendment to the U.S Bill of Rights, and advancing the rights of law-abiding Rhode Island citizens to own and use firearms for all legal activities” and “[t]o preserve the right of Rhode Island firearm owners as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 22 of the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”[1] The Petitioner states that the League does not have any matters pending before the Town Council or before any of the municipal agencies for which the Town Council is the appointing authority. The Petitioner represents that the lobbying is normally conducted before the Rhode Island General Assembly and that he has never seen any of the gun rights advocacy groups lobby before the Town. The Petitioner expressly states that he will not lobby any Town public office or official and that he will recuse from participating in any matter in which the League appears before the Town Council. The Petitioner represents that there is no nexus between his lobbying and his public duties. Under the Code of Ethics, a public official or employee may not accept other employment that will either impair his independence of judgment as to his official duties or employment or require him to disclose confidential information acquired by him in the course of his official duties. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b). The Code of Ethics prohibits a public official or employee from representing himself or another person before a state or municipal agency of which he is a member, by which he is employed or for which he is the appointing authority. Section 36-14-5(e)(1) and (2); Commission Regulation 520-RICR-00-00-1.1.4(A)(1)(a) and (c) [Representing Oneself or Others, Defined (36-14-5016)]. A “person” is defined as an individual or business entity. Section 36-14-2(7). A public official or employee is also prohibited from using his public position or confidential information received through his position to obtain financial gain, other than that provided by law, for himself, a family member, business associate, or any business by which he is employed or represents. Section 36-14-5(d). Further, he may not participate in any matter in which he has an interest, financial or otherwise, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest. Section 36-14-5(a). A substantial conflict of interest occurs if he has reason to believe or expect that he or any family member or business associate, or any business by which he is employed, will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss by reason of his official activity. Section 36-14-7(a). The facts as represented by the Petitioner are analogous to those in Advisory Opinion 98-152 in which the Ethics Commission opined that the Code of Ethics did not prohibit a member of the Workers Compensation Medical Advisory Board and the Rhode Island Chiropractic Board of Examiners from lobbying the General Assembly on behalf of the Chiropractic Society of Rhode Island since the petitioner’s lobbying activities involved interaction with the General Assembly, not either of the boards on which he served, and he would not be appearing or lobbying before his own board. See also A.O. 2003-67 (opining that a part-time attorney with the Rhode Island Department of Labor could, in her private capacity, lobby on behalf of the Rhode Island Right to Life Committee because there was no indication that the lobbying was in substantial conflict with her public duties, nor would it impair her independence of judgment as to her official duties, and given that she would not be representing herself or any other person or business before her own agency); A.O. 2003-28 (opining that a part-time attorney for the Rhode Island Department of Administration was not prohibited by the Code from accepting private work as a legislative lobbyist before the General Assembly on behalf of Spielo Gaming International). Here, provided that the Petitioner engages in the aforedescribed lobbying on his own time and without the use of public resources, there is no indication that the Petitioner’s employment as a lobbyist on behalf of the Rhode Island Firearm Owners’ League would either impair his independence of judgement or create an interest in substantial conflict with his public duties as a Town Council member. Accordingly, it is the opinion of the Ethics Commission that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the Petitioner from lobbying on behalf of the Rhode Island Firearm Owners’ League provided that he does not lobby the Burrillville Town Council or any other agency for which he is the appointing authority. This Advisory Opinion is strictly limited to the facts stated herein and relates only to the application of the Rhode Island Code of Ethics. Under the Code of Ethics, advisory opinions are based on the representations made by, or on behalf of, a public official or employee and are not adversarial or investigative proceedings. Finally, this Commission offers no opinion on the effect that any other statute, regulation, ordinance, constitutional provision, charter provision, or canon of professional ethics may have on this situation. Code Citations: 36-14-2(7) 36-14-5(a) 36-14-5(b) 36-14-5(d) 36-14-5(e) 36-14-7(a) Commission Regulation 520-RICR-00-00-1.1.4 Related Advisory Opinions: A.O. 2003-67 A.O. 2003-28 A.O. 98-152 Keywords: Lobbying