Advisory Opinion No. 97-46

Re: Magdy A. Guirguis

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, an engineer working in Department of Environmental Management ("DEM") Office of Waste Management, is a state employee and requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may submit material for approval to DEM's Office of Water Resources and Office of Compliance and Inspection as a private engineer given his employment with DEM.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, an engineer working in Department of Environmental Management ("DEM") Office of Waste Management, a state employee position, may submit material for approval to DEM's Office of Water Resources and Office of Compliance and Inspection as a private engineer. This material may include routine, non-substantived follow-ups to these submissions. Obviously, in any such matters the Petitioner must represent himself as acting in a private capacity, not as a DEM employee.

However, the petitioner may not have any personal private involvement with any matter before the Office of Water Resources and Office of Inspection and Compliance that goes beyond ministerial activities (e.g. hand delivering documents to or reviewing files at the division) so as to constitute "representing another person" nor serve as an expert witness before those offices until the expiration of one year from the date of his official severance from the DEM. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e). Additionally, the petitioner may not use any confidential information he obtained while working for the Office of Waste Management for financial gain. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b), (c), (d). This opinion is based on the Petitioner's representation that he does not have contact with the Office of Water Resources and Office of Inspection and Compliance in his position in the Office of Waste Management, nor does he exercise any supervisory or policy-making authority within DEM that would extend to and/or affect those offices. The Petitioner's position involves reviewing remedial projects as to hazardous waste. The other offices mentioned are not involved in these projects.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(b)

36-14-5(c)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-5(e)

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

97-1

97-2

96-102

94-64

94-1

93-68

89-70

Keywords:

private employment