Advisory Opinion No. 98-22

Re: Anastasia Williams

QUESTION PRESENTED

The legal counsel for the Providence Plan Housing Corporation (PPHC) requests an advisory opinion on behalf of the Petitioner, a PPHC employee, a municipal employee position, who is also a legislator serving as State Representative, a state elected position, as to whether she may apply for and receive federal HOME program funds made available through the PPHC.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that an employee of the Providence Place Housing Corporation (PPHC), a municipal employee position, who is also a legislator serving as State Representative, a state elected position, may apply for and receive federal HOME program funds made available through the PPHC. The Petitioner may not participate, however, in the decision-making process at the PPHC regarding the HOME program funds, nor may she use her official position as a member of the General Assembly to influence the funding decisions. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(d).

The PPHC publicly advertised the availability of federal HOME program funds for home improvement projects, thereby giving reasonable notice of the availability of the funds. Because of an excess of available funding, another advertisement inviting applications will be placed this Spring. The PPHC partnership committee evaluated and numerically ranked the applications using federal criteria. The PPHC represents that the application of the Petitioner met all established criteria and was one of twenty-eight applications recommended for approval. PPHC's legal counsel represents that the Petitioner does not possess discretionary authority regarding the HOME funding program in her employment with PPHC, nor is she in any way involved with the application or approval process for the HOME program. As a result, the Petitioner could not act in her official capacity as a PPHC employee to affect her own financial interests.

The Petitioner's submission of an application for HOME funds to her employer, the PPHC, is a ministerial act. As such, it is not an appearance before the governmental entity by which she is employed, which would be prohibited under the Code of Ethics. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e). Finally, because the Petitioner does not exercise fiscal or jurisdictional control over the PPHC or HOME program in her official capacity as a State Representative, the prohibitions set out in Commission Regulation 36-14-5008 are not applicable here.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-5(e)

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

96-59

95-105

90-55

Keywords:

Discretionary authority

Ministerial