Advisory Opinion No. 98-50

Re: The Honorable Antonio J. Pires

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, a State Representative and Chair of the House Finance Committee, state elected and appointed positions, respectively, requests an advisory opinion as to whether the insurance firm in which he is a general partner may bid on proposals relating to the McCoy Stadium renovation project if any income derived from such contracts is distributed without benefit to him.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the insurance firm in which the Petitioner, a State Representative and Chair of the House Finance Committee, state elected and appointed positions, respectively, is a general partner may bid on proposals relating to the McCoy Stadium renovation project, provided that all contracts are awarded through an open and public bidding process.

The Petitioner advises that he has advocated and supported legislation to enable the renovation of McCoy Stadium to be financed through general revenue appropriations. He also participated in negotiations on the FY1998 State Budget, which made appropriations for the McCoy Stadium project, and subsequently recommended the budget to the General Assembly. The Petitioner represents that his private employment is as a general partner in the insurance firm of Troy & Pires, LLC, which has expressed interest in bidding on future proposals relating to the McCoy project.

The Commission concludes that Troy & Pires, LLC, may bid on any future proposals relating to the McCoy project provided, however, that all contracts are awarded through an open and public bidding process. Under the Code of Ethics, a public official or his business associates may not enter into a contract with a state or municipal agency unless "the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including prior public notice and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered and contracts awarded." R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(h).

However, if the Petitioner requested particular services or otherwise provided input regarding insurance requirements for the project, the firm may not accept a contract as the Petitioner’s actions would constitute participation in the bid specification process and he and his business associates may be placed in a privileged position with respect to other bidders. Absent any such conflict of interest, however, the firm may accept a future contract that has been awarded through open and public bidding, and the Petitioner may partake in any derivative income without qualification.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(h)

Related Advisory Opinions:

97-50

97-66

97-136

97-148

95-24

Keywords:

Contracts

Private employment