Advisory Opinion No. 98-51

Re: The Honorable Dominick J. Ruggerio

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, a legislator/State Senator, a state elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may participate in discussions and vote on legislation relating to classified state employees given that he is the Secretary-Treasurer of a union representing classified state workers and that he would not personally benefit from the legislation.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a legislator/State Senator, a state elected position, may participate in discussions and vote on legislation relating to classified state employees because the Petitioner and/or other members of his Union will not be affected to any greater or lesser extent than all other members of the state classified system. However, the Petitioner must file a section 6 notice with the Commission and the Senate which details his business and financial interests, the nature of the potential conflict, and the reasons why, despite the potential conflict, he is able to vote objectively, fairly, and in the public interest. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(b).

The Petitioner advises that he is the Secretary-Treasurer of Judicial, Professional and Technical Employees, Local Union 808, which represents public service employees within the state system. He is a member of the union and earns an annual salary of approximately $2,520 as Secretary-Treasurer. The Petitioner represents that the governing rules of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) pension fund require that any member who earns in excess of $6000 per year is eligible for the fund. The legislation at issue, 98-S-2392, provides that a state employee may become a member of an additional pension system if there is a collective bargaining agreement in force between the State and the agent that references said participation. Local Union 808 has such a provision. Additionally, Local Union 808 represents approximately 500 classified state employees.

Although it may be unlikely for the Petitioner to be directly affected by this legislation because his annual relevant income falls below the $6,000 threshold, under its terms, members of Local Union 808 would be able to receive an additional pension. Conceivably, any other Union that negotiates with the State of Rhode Island also would benefit by this provision, since additional pensions are currently prohibited for all classified employees by the statute. Without addressing whether the Petitioner is or is not a business associate of the other members of Local Union 808 because of his status as its Secretary-Treasurer, c.f. A.O. 97-91, the Commission concludes that the Petitioner and/or Local Union 808 would benefit from its passage to no greater or lesser extent than a significant and definable class of persons; i.e., all classified state employees. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(b). Therefore, the class exemption applies and the Petitioner may participate in consideration of and votes regarding the bill provided that he fulfills the notice requirements of Section (6) of the Code.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-7(a)

36-14-7(b)

Related Advisory Opinions:

98-14

97-91

95-64

Keywords:

Class exception

Union/bargaining unit