Minutes 3-7-23 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION March 7, 2023 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 3rd meeting of 2023 at 9:00 a.m. at the Rhode Island Ethics Commission conference room, located at 40 Fountain Street, 8th Floor, Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, pursuant to the notice published at the Commission offices, the State House Library, and electronically with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The following Commissioners were present: Marisa A. Quinn, Chair Lauren E. Jones Arianne Corrente, Vice Chair Emma L. Peterson Kyle P. Palumbo, Secretary Holly J. Susi The following Commissioner was not present: Matthew D. Strauss. Also present were Herbert F. DeSimone, Jr., Commission Legal Counsel; Jason Gramitt, Commission Executive Director; Katherine D’Arezzo, Senior Staff Attorney; Lynne M. Radiches, Staff Attorney/Education Coordinator; Staff Attorneys Teresa Giusti and Teodora Popova Papa; and Commission Investigators Peter J. Mancini, Gary V. Petrarca, and Kevin Santurri. At 9:03 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on February 14, 2023. Upon motion made by Commissioner Jones and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was VOTED: To approve the minutes of the Open Session held on February 14, 2023. AYES: Marisa A. Quinn; Lauren E. Jones; Kyle P. Palumbo; Emma L. Peterson; Holly J. Susi. ABSTENTION: Arianne Corrente. The next order of business was: Director’s Report: Status report and updates. a.) Complaints and investigations pending There is one complaint pending, which is noticed for consideration today during Executive Session. b.) Advisory opinions pending There are sixteen advisory opinions pending. c.) Access to Public Records Act requests since last meeting There were three APRA requests received since the last meeting, all of which were granted within one business day. One request related to a recusal, and two requests related to advisory opinions. d.) Financial Disclosure The 2022 Financial Statements are being prepared for mailing next week to approximately 4,200 filers. e.) Ethics Administration/Office and Education Updates Executive Director Gramitt informed that many state agencies are moving towards live- stream meetings, and the Ethics Commission will likely want to do the same. He explained that during the pandemic former Governor Raimondo and Governor McKee issued executive orders allowing state agencies to hold public meetings remotely. While the pandemic has passed and state law requires members of public agencies and boards to resume in-person meetings, this requirement does not apply to members of the public who may attend remotely. Executive Director Gramitt informed that he has started researching the technology and equipment needed for the Ethics Commission to live-stream its meetings to enable the public to attend remotely. In response to Commissioner Jones, Executive Director Gramitt stated that this technology would allow petitioners from Block Island, for example, to attend meetings and participate remotely in the consideration of their advisory opinions. In response to Chair Quinn, Executive Director Gramitt stated that while it would be possible to hold Ethics Commission meetings at a location where the technology for live streaming is already installed, it would not necessarily be feasible for the Commission to change its location for every meeting. The next order of business was: Advisory Opinions. The advisory opinions were based on draft advisory opinions prepared by Commission Staff for review by the Commission and were scheduled as items on the Open Session Agenda for this date. The first advisory opinion was that of: Deborah Ruggiero, a former legislator who served as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits her from accepting, if offered, an appointment by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Broadband Advisory Council, prior to the expiration of one year after leaving her legislative office. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. The Petitioner addressed the Commission and stated that she came forward with this request to ensure that her proposed actions have the Ethics Commission’s approval. Upon motion made by Commissioner Susi and duly seconded by Commissioner Jones, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Deborah Ruggiero, a former legislator who served as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The next advisory opinion was that of: John Preiss, a member of the Coventry Planning Commission, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from participating in Planning Commission discussions and decision-making relative to a proposed plan for the mixed-use development of real property, given that: 1) the development would be located on land that is in close proximity to the Petitioner’s personal residence; and 2) representatives of a private neighborhood association to which the Petitioner belongs are expected to appear before the Planning Commission to provide public comment about the development. Staff Attorney Radiches presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. Upon motion made by Commissioner Jones and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to John Preiss, a member of the Coventry Planning Commission. The next advisory opinion was that of: Garrett S. Mancieri, a member of the Woonsocket City Council, who in his private capacity is a non-voting, ex officio member of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from participating in the City Council’s discussions and decision-making relative to the Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. Staff Attorney Popova Papa informed that the Petitioner submitted a request involving two different issues which are addressed in two separate advisory opinions. In response to Commissioner Jones, Staff Attorney Popova Papa explained that the Petitioner serves on the Board of Directors in his private capacity but serves thereon as a result of his public position on the City Council. The Petitioner addressed the Commission and informed that there is no requirement as part of his Town duties for the Board to have ex officio members. He further informed that he served on the Board prior to his election to the City Council and, following his election, was given the choice of stepping down from the Board or staying on in an ex officio role. In response to Commissioner Jones, the Petitioner stated that there are 13 or 14 members of the Board, but the bylaws allow up to 25 to serve. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Peterson, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Garrett S. Mancieri, a member of the Woonsocket City Council, who in his private capacity is a non-voting, ex officio member of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative. The next advisory opinion was that of: Garrett S. Mancieri, a member of the Woonsocket City Council, who in his private capacity is a member of the Board of Sponsors of Autumnfest, a private non-profit organization, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from participating in the City Council’s discussions and decision-making relative to Autumnfest. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. In response to Chair Quinn, the Petitioner explained that the Board of Sponsors was created by different entities who wanted to be involved in the operation of Autumnfest without its members having to serve on its Board. The Petitioner represented that he has a great deal of knowledge and experience that are beneficial to the Board. Upon motion made by Commissioner Palumbo and duly seconded by Commissioner Peterson, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Garrett S. Mancieri, a member of the Woonsocket City Council, who in his private capacity is a member of the Board of Sponsors of Autumnfest, a private non-profit organization. The next advisory opinion was that of: Mark A. Vieira, the Chief of the Johnston Police Department, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the established alternate supervisory chain of command is sufficient to insulate him from conflicts of interest arising out of his position, given that his spouse is employed by the Johnston Police Department as its Administrative and Payroll Clerk. Staff Attorney Radiches presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. In response to Commissioner Corrente, the Petitioner informed that the Mayor of Johnston is aware and in support of the proposed alternate supervisory chain of command that will require his approval. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Mark A. Vieira, the Chief of the Johnston Police Department. The final advisory opinion was that of: The Honorable Stephen M. Casey, a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, requests an advisory opinion regarding his ability to discuss and vote on proposed legislation impacting firefighters that has been assigned for hearing and/or consideration to the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee, of which he is the Chair, given that he is employed as a full-time professional firefighter in the City of Woonsocket. Commissioners Susi queried whether she should recuse from consideration of the instant advisory opinion given that her spouse and son are retired firefighters and her spouse is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs. Commissioner Corrente posed a similar inquiry due to her spouse’s status as a municipal fire chief. Legal Counsel DeSimone advised that Commissioners Corrente and Susi do not have conflicts that would require their recusal because they are only voting on whether the Petitioner may vote on the proposed legislation and that their family members would not be directly impacted by their votes on the opinion. To the extent that their family members would be impacted by the proposed legislation itself, Legal Counsel Desimone further advised that the class exception would clearly apply. Senior Staff Attorney D’Arezzo presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. Upon motion made by Commissioner Jones and duly seconded by Commissioner Peterson, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to The Honorable Stephen M. Casey, a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The next order of business was: Discussion regarding public housing authorities relative to the application of the Code of Ethics and financial disclosure requirements to housing authority commissioners and employees. Executive Director Gramitt summarized the Ethics Commission’s discussion at its last meeting concerning public housing authorities (“PHAs”) throughout the state and whether their employees and commissioners are required to file financial disclosure and, if so, whether they have been filing, and whether they are subject to the Code of Ethics. He stated that he, along with Senior Confidential Investigator Gary Petrarca and Financial Disclosure Officer Michelle Berg, conducted research on these questions. Executive Director Gramitt informed that the results of the research showed that there are 28 PHAs throughout the state and that 11 municipalities currently do not have PHAs. He further informed that all housing authority commissioners who are appointed by the municipality’s mayor or town/city council must file financial disclosure and are subject to the Code of Ethics. Executive Director Gramitt explained that executive directors of PHAs are subject to the Code but are not required to file financial disclosure on the basis that they are hired by the PHA Commission and are not appointed. He further explained that employees of PHAs are also subject to the Code but are not required to file financial disclosure. Executive Director Gramitt stated that most of the PHAs were in the Ethics Commission’s database and most of their members have been filing. He informed that the database has been updated to include those PHAs and members who had not been identified until now, and these members will be mailed the 2022 financial disclosure statements and all annual statements going forward. Executive Director Gramitt explained that he and Education Coordinator Radiches will work with the PHAs to offer ethics and financial disclosure training. He represented that the database was not updated with all PHA records because these entities fall outside the state or municipal categorization. Executive Director Gramitt recommended that the Ethics Commission monitor whether the PHAs comply with the financial disclosure filing requirements through the end of the summer before deciding whether it is necessary to issue a general advisory opinion. In response to Commissioner Jones, Executive Director Gramitt informed that the staff’s practice with newly identified filers has been to require that they file for the current year and that they timely file going forward. He stated that new filers are not required to file retroactively for five years. In response to Chair Quinn, Executive Director Gramitt stated that Investigator Petrarca contacted the clerks from the municipalities in which the PHA members were not filing to inform them that those members will be included in the certification lists that the Ethics Commission sends out each year. In response to Commissioner Palumbo, Executive Director Gramitt stated that PHAs must follow federal HUD regulations but he does not have information regarding whether they are subject to federal ethics regulations. In further response to Commissioner Palumbo, Executive Director Gramitt informed that PHAs are federally funded but also receive monies from tenants and state aid. In response to Commissioner Jones, Executive Director Gramitt stated that executive directors are compensated with federal funds. At 10:00 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: a.) Motion to approve minutes of the Executive Session held on February 14, 2023, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). b.) In re: Harold G. Morgan, Jr., Complaint No. 2023-1, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). c.) Motion to return to Open Session. At 10:12 a.m., the Commission reconvened in Open Session. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on March 7, 2023. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Jones, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal the minutes of the Executive Session held on March 7, 2023. The next order of business was: Report on actions taken in Executive Session. Chair Quinn reported that the Commission took the following actions in Executive Session: Voted (5-0) to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on February 14, 2023. [Reporter’s Note: The votes were as follows: AYES: Marisa A. Quinn; Lauren E. Jones; Kyle P. Palumbo; Emma L. Peterson; Holly J. Susi. ABSTENTION: Arianne Corrente.] Unanimously voted (6-0) to approve a proposed Informal Resolution and Settlement in the matter of In re: Harold G. Morgan, Jr., Complaint No. 2023-1, by which the Ethics Commission imposed a civil penalty of $300 for violations of the Financial Disclosure Mandate. Copies of the Informal Resolution and Settlement will be available at the conclusion of the meeting. Unanimously voted (6-0) to return to Open Session. The next order of business was: New Business proposed for future Commission agendas and general comments from the Commission. There were none. At 10:15 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Jones and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn the meeting. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ Kyle P. Palumbo Secretary