Advisory Opinion No. 96-119

Re: Mohamed J. Freij

QUESTION PRESENTED

The petitioner, Principal Sanitary Engineer with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, a state employee, requests an advisory opinion as to what potential conflicts may exist given his private employment as a land surveyor and engineer.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, Principal Sanitary Engineer with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, a state employee, should recuse himself, as a DEM employee, from participation in matters where he has surveyed or rendered services in his private capacity. The prohibition, requiring recusal, extends to matters the petitioner personally worked on as well as matters involving co-workers and/or contractors working on behalf of his company. This is based on the potential for conflict and impairment of his independence of judgment in reviewing septic system design plans. Similarly, the petitioner should not accept private employment as a surveyor for matters that he has participated in as a DEM employee, nor should any co-workers and/or contractors working on behalf of his company accept such employment unless some procedure or mechanism can be devised to insulate the petitioner's public duties from the company's private endeavors. Such recusal will ensure that the petitioner's independence of judgment is not impaired nor that he will use his public office or confidential information received through his public employment to obtain financial gain.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(b)

36-14-5(c)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-6

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

94-64

94-1

93-68

89-70

Keywords:

business interest

private employment