Advisory Opinion No. 98-78

Re: Douglas B. Neu, Esq.

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, North Kingstown Assistant Town Solicitor, a municipal appointed position, requests an advisory opinion as to 1) whether he is required to file a financial disclosure statement and, if he is required to file, 2) whether the forms require disclosure of various categories of information.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a North Kingstown Assistant Town Solicitor, a municipal appointed position, is required to file a financial disclosure statement, as he is a municipal appointed official. See R.I. Gen Laws §§ 36-14-4(b), 36-14-16.

The Petitioner represents that he was sworn in as Assistant Solicitor on January 17, 1997. All appointed officials are required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of their appointment for the year preceding the appointment. Therefore, the Petitioner is required to file a 1996 statement and a 1997 statement. See R.I. Gen Laws §§ 36-14-16, 17.

Under General Commission Advisory 2, the Commission concluded that where a law firm was appointed as town solicitor, all members of the firm working in the capacity of a solicitor were required to file a financial disclosure statement. Therefore, in response to Question #3 on the disclosure form the Petitioner should list all public offices held by him, including a solicitor or assistant solicitor position for each municipality that he served, whether because of a direct appointment or under his law firm's designation as solicitor. He is not required to identify each board, agency or other municipal entity that he represents or advises in his role as solicitor or assistant solicitor. He may, however, list those entities if he so chooses. Additionally, the Code of Ethics does not provide for a de minimus exemption for filing financial disclosure forms. Finally, pursuant to R.I. Gen Laws § 36-14-17, the Petitioner is not required to disclose an estranged spouse's financial interests on the financial disclosure form.

Code Citations:

36-14-4(b)

36-14-16

36-14-17

Related Advisory Opinions:

GCA 2

77-120

Keywords:

Financial disclosure