Advisory Opinion No. 98-73

Re: Leo Skenyon

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, the Administrator/Clerk of the Administrative Adjudication Court, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he must file a financial disclosure statement with the Ethics Commission where, under R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-43-1.1(a), he assumed the position by operation of law "without the necessity of appointment by the governor or advice and consent of the senate."

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, the Administrator/Clerk of the Administrative Adjudication Court, a state employee position, is not required to file a financial disclosure statement. Section 16 of the Code of Ethics provides that on a designated date each calendar year “every person enumerated in section 36-14-4(a) and section 36-14-4(b) shall file with the Commission a financial statement complying with the requirements of this chapter.” Section 4(a) refers to state and municipal elected officials; section 4(b) refers to state and municipal appointed officials.

The term and duties of the Administrator/Clerk of the Administrative Adjudication Court are set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-43-1.1. That section provides that the Administrator/Clerk "shall be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate for a term of twelve (12) years; provided, however, that the person holding the position of assistant director for administrative adjudication as of the effective date of this act shall hold the office of administrator/clerk for twelve (12) years from the effective date hereof without the necessity of appointment by the governor or advice and consent of the senate." See R.I. Gen. Laws § 41-43-1.1(a).

Clearly the Petitioner is not an elected official. Nor is he a state appointed official as that term is defined in the Code of Ethics. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-2(2) defines a state or municipal appointed official as any officer or member of a state or municipal agency who is a) appointed for a term of office specified in the constitution or by statute, ordinance or charter, or b) appointed by or through the governing body or highest official of state or municipal government. Here, the Petitioner, who held the position of assistant director for administrative adjudication, was not appointed to the position of Administrator/Clerk by the Governor or any other state official; he assumed the position by operation of law. As such, he is not a state appointed official and is not required to file a financial disclosure statement. All future Administrator/Clerks, however, must file financial disclosure statements since under R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-43-1.1(a) the Governor must appoint them to this position.

Code Citations:

36-15-2(4)

36-14-4

36-14-16

Related Advisory Opinions:

96-39

96-50

96-51

97-134

98-62

98-68

Keywords:

Financial disclosure