Advisory Opinion No. 97-89

Re: Harry J. MacDonald

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, a State Police Officer, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may, in his private capacity, negotiate with a communications company given that the State Police radio equipment was manufactured by the same company.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a State Police Officer, a state employee position, may, in his private capacity, negotiate with a communications company that has had business dealings with the State Police. The Petitioner represents that a private citizen has approached him to negotiate with Motorola with regard to placing a tower on the citizen's land. The Petitioner would share in any rental income received by the citizen from Motorola. Although the Petitioner has negotiated with other companies on behalf of the State Police regarding similar issues, he has not negotiated or otherwise communicated with Motorola in his capacity as a state employee. The State Police radios currently in use were manufactured by Motorola, but are repaired by other parties. Additionally, the State Police does not plan to purchase additional radio equipment in the foreseeable future.

Given that the Petitioner does not have any official duties with regard to Motorola nor is there any indication that this negotiation will impact the State Police or result in the disclosure of confidential information, the Petitioner may participate in the referenced private negotiations. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a), (b) and (c). However, in the event the Petitioner's independence of judgment as to his official duties may be impaired or result in the disclosure of confidential information, he should recuse himself in his official capacity from participating in such matters or seek further guidance of the Ethics Commission.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(b)

36-14-5(c)

Related Advisory Opinions:

97-45

97-39

97-5

96-72

96-55

96-31

96-27

96-25

96-22

96-13

95-102

95-50

95-31

94-4

94-1

92-12

Keywords:

private employment