Minutes 6-7-22 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION June 7, 2022 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 7th meeting of 2022 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, June 7, 2022, 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 Matthew D. Strauss Kyle P. Palumbo, Secretary Holly J. Susi 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 9:02 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on May 17, 2022. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was unanimously VOTED: To approve the minutes of the Open Session held on May 17, 2022. The next order of business was: Director’s Report: Status report and updates. a.) Complaints and investigations pending There are three active complaints pending, two of which are under investigation and one of which has been noticed for an initial determination today in Executive Session. Executive Director Gramitt stated that the preliminary investigation is still active and ongoing. b.) Advisory opinions pending There are five advisory opinions pending, three of which have been noticed for today’s meeting. c.) Access to Public Records Act requests since last meeting There were five APRA requests received since the last meeting, all of which were granted within one business day. Executive Director Gramitt informed that three requests related to financial disclosure, one related to an advisory opinion, and one related to complaint materials. d.) 2021 Financial Disclosure Executive Director Gramitt stated that the gap between the compliance rate for last year and this year is closing, and the staff will be shifting to compliance mode at the end of this month. e.) Ethics Administration/Office and Education Updates Executive Director Gramitt informed that Commissioner J. Douglas Bennett resigned from the Commission. Executive Director Gramitt stated that the Governor’s office is aware that there are currently three vacancies that need to be filled. f.) Legislative Update There was nothing to report. 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: Paul D. Ragosta, Esq., who is employed part-time as Legal Counsel to the Rhode Island Office of the Auditor General, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from simultaneously serving part-time as an Associate Justice on the City of Providence Housing Court, a municipal appointed position. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. Upon motion made by Commissioner Jones and duly seconded, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Paul D. Ragosta, Esq., who is employed part-time as Legal Counsel to the Rhode Island Office of the Auditor General. The next advisory opinion was that of: Nancy A. Beye, a member of the Jamestown Town Council, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits her from volunteering in her capacity as a Town Council member to provide information and ideas to BETA Group, Inc., a private corporation that has been retained by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management in connection with the development of a master plan for Beavertail State Park, given that in her private capacity the Petitioner is a member of the Board of Directors for the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association, a private non-profit organization that manages the lighthouse museum located in Beavertail State Park. Staff Attorney Radiches presented the Commission Staff recommendation. She informed that the Petitioner could not be present but consented to the Commission proceeding in her absence. In response to Chair Quinn, Staff Attorney Radiches stated that should any part of the Department of Environmental Management’s (“DEM”) master plan come before the Town Council, the Petitioner would be required to recuse. Staff Attorney Radiches further stated that the Petitioner represented to Staff Attorney Radiches that a representative from BETA Group recently advised the Petitioner that DEM does not expect any part of the master plan to go before the Town Council. Upon motion made by Commissioner Jones and duly seconded by Commissioner Strauss, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Nancy A. Beye, a member of the Jamestown Town Council. The final advisory opinion was that of: Andy Andujar, Assistant Coordinator at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Workers’ Compensation Division, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from forming a private entity, in his private capacity and on his own time, together with other investors, for the purpose of applying for and obtaining one or multiple cannabis retail sales permits in the State of Rhode Island. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that she had not heard from the Petitioner as to whether he would attend but suggested that the Commission proceed in the Petitioner’s absence. In response to Commissioner Palumbo, Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that the Petitioner’s public duties relate to workers’ compensation insurance coverage for large-scale as opposed to small-scale companies. Commissioner Jones noted that the draft opinion addresses whether the Code of Ethics prohibits the Petitioner’s formation of the private entity and that any issues arising post-formation should come before the Commission. Commissioner Jones further noted that a potential issue might include a shift in the Petitioner’s public duties to include monitoring small-scale companies. Chair Quinn stated that the Petitioner should be attentive to shifts in policy landscape. Upon motion made by Commissioner Susi and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion to Andy Andujar, Assistant Coordinator at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Workers’ Compensation Division. At 9:29 a.m., upon motion by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Palumbo, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: a.) Motion to approve minutes of Executive Session held on May 17, 2022, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). b.) In re: Carlos E. Tobon, Complaint No. 2022-3, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) & (4). c.) Motion to return to Open Session. At 9:38 a.m., the Commission reconvened in Open Session. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on June 7, 2022. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Palumbo, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal the minutes of the Executive Session held on June 7, 2022. 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: Unanimously voted (6-0) to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on May 17, 2022. Unanimously voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Carlos E. Tobon, Complaint No. 2022-3, to initially determine that the Complaint states facts that, if true, are sufficient to constitute a violation of the Financial Disclosure Mandate of the Code of Ethics and authorized an investigation. An Initial Determination is a preliminary vote that should not be construed as an opinion regarding the truth of the facts alleged in the complaint but is merely a vote to conduct an investigation into the allegations raised. 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. Executive Director Gramitt informed that Legal Counsel’s contract will expire at the end of June and its renewal will be noticed for discussion in Executive Session at the Commission’s next meeting. In response to Commissioner Jones, Executive Director Gramitt stated that legal counsel’s contracts historically have been renewed on an annual basis, but he will inform the Commission whether said contracts can be renewed for more than one year at a time. At 9:45 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Susi, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn the meeting. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ Kyle P. Palumbo Secretary