Advisory Opinion No. 2005-6 Re: David Balasco QUESTION PRESENTED: The petitioner, a former Legislative Director for the Governor of the State of Rhode Island, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether, in his private employment, he may engage in lobbying of the General Assembly and state and municipal agencies. RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, a former Legislative Director for the Governor of the State of Rhode Island, a state employee position, may engage in lobbying of the General Assembly and state and municipal agencies other than the Office of the Governor. The petitioner represents that he was employed as a Legislative Director at the Office of the Governor from January 2003 until September 2004. In that capacity, he was responsible for advancing the position of the executive branch before the General Assembly. Specifically, these responsibilities included reviewing all executive branch legislation as well as all other legislation in order to advise the Governor as to the respective issues. Additionally, the petitioner would act as an intermediary between the Office of the Governor and legislature and would occasionally testify before a legislative committee on behalf of the Governor. The petitioner represents that while he regularly interacted with executive departments, he had no supervisory, policymaking or fiscal authority over them. The petitioner informs that Lifespan, a hospital network that includes local hospitals, presently employs him as Director of Government Relations. In that capacity, the petitioner represents Lifespan before state and local governments as well as regulators. The petitioner’s duties will also include lobbying on behalf of Lifespan at the state and local levels. While the petitioner is aware that he cannot represent Lifespan before the Office of the Governor for one (1) year following his termination date, he is requesting this advisory opinion to determine whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from lobbying the Rhode Island General Assembly and other state and local agencies. Under the Code of Ethics, a state employee may not represent himself or any other person before any state or municipal agency by which he is employed. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(1), (2). This prohibition applies not only during the period of employment, but is extended for a period of one (1) year after he has officially severed his position with said state or municipal agency. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(4). In an analogous advisory opinion, the Commission opined that the Code of Ethics did not prohibit the former Director of Legislative and Governmental Affairs in the Rhode Island Office of the Lieutenant Governor from lobbying the General Assembly and other state agencies in his private employment, provided that he did not lobby the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, his former employer. See A.O. 2003-56. The revolving door and post-employment restrictions set out in the Code of Ethics prohibit a former state employee from appearing before a state agency by which he was employed for a period of one (1) year after the termination of that employment. Therefore, provided that the petitioner refrains from appearing before or lobbying the Office of the Governor for a period of one (1) year after the date of his official severance from his position there, the provisions of 5(e) would not prohibit his lobbying the General Assembly and state and municipal agencies. Code Citations: 36-14-5(e) Related Advisory Opinions: 2004-4 2003-56 2003-32 2001-26 Keywords: Revolving Door Lobbying