Conflict of Interest Law Massachusetts

Since cities and municipalities are entitled to the unwavering loyalty of their employees, a municipal employee cannot be paid by other persons and organizations in connection with a matter if the city or municipality has an interest in the matter. In addition, a municipal employee may not act on behalf of other persons and organizations or act as a lawyer for other persons and organizations in which the City has an interest. The intermediary activity consists of communicating with the municipality in person, by telephone or in writing; act as a liaison person; Provision of documents to the city or municipality; and to serve as a speaker. Example: A member of the planning council lives next to a property on which a developer plans to build a new building. Since the planning committee member owns an adjacent property, he or she is presumed to have a financial interest in the matter. He may participate only if he submits to the State Ethics Committee the opinion of a qualified independent appraiser that the new building does not harm his financial interest. Regulatory exceptions. In addition to the legal exceptions just mentioned, the Commission has created several regulatory exceptions that allow municipal workers to participate in certain matters, regardless of the existence of a financial interest in certain very specific situations, if they are authorized to do so in order to promote a public objective. There is an exception that allows school board members to participate in setting tuition fees that affect their own children if they make prior written disclosure. There is an exception that allows city clerks to perform election-related functions even if they or their immediate family members are on the ballot, as the election functions of public servants are largely regulated by other laws. There is also an exception that allows a person serving as a member of a community board, under a legal requirement that the board of directors have members with some affiliation, to participate fully in the general decisions of the board, even if the corporation with which they are affiliated has a financial interest in the matter. Other exceptions are set out in the Commission Regulation, which is available on the Commission`s website. You do not need to be a full-time paid municipal employee to be considered a municipal employee due to conflicts of interest.

Any person who provides services to a city or municipality or holds a municipal position, whether paid or unpaid, including full-time and part-time employees, elected officials, volunteers and consultants, is a municipal employee under the Conflict of Interest Act. An employee of a private company can also be a municipal employee if the private company has a contract with the city or municipality and the employee is a „key employee“ under the contract, which means that the city has entered into a contract specifically for its services. The law also applies to private parties who engage in inappropriate business with city employees, such as . B bribes or illegal gifts. Members of the Municipal Assembly and members of the Founding Commission are not municipal employees within the meaning of the Conflict of Interest Act. This summary is not intended to be legal advice and, by virtue of its summary, does not mention all conflict of law provisions that may be applicable in a particular situation. Our website contains www.mass.gov/state-ethics-commission more information on how the law is applied in many situations. You can also contact the Commission`s Legal Service via our website, by telephone or by post. Our contact information can be found at the top of this document. For example, a school board member who has been appointed as a special municipal employee will appear before the health department on behalf of a client in his or her private practice in a matter in which he or she was not involved or responsible as a member of the school committee. There is no conflict. However, he cannot appear before the school board or school service on behalf of a client because he has formal responsibility for all matters submitted to the school board.

This is also the case if he has withdrawn from participation in the case in an official capacity. In many cases where they are not otherwise required to participate, a municipal employee may comply with the law by simply not participating in the particular matter in which they have a financial interest. She does not have to give a reason not to participate. A municipal employee may always represent his or her own personal interests, including before his or her own local authority or board of directors, under the same conditions as other members of the public in a similar situation are likely to do. A municipal employee may also apply for and be paid for building permits and related permits on behalf of another person, unless he or she works for the licensing authority or an authority that regulates the permitting authority. A former municipal employee who, as such, has participated in the general legislation on prolonged gambling and related matters may not become or acquire a financial interest in an officer or employee of an applicant for a gaming licence or a holder of a gaming licence one year after the end of his or her public employment. Example where there is no violation: An appointed member of the Municipal Area Advisory Council who reviews and recommends changes to the city`s by-laws in relation to a business park is a partner of a company that owns commercial real estate in the district. Before participating in the discussions of the Committee, the member shall submit a disclosure to the Board of Appeal which appointed him to his post, and that board shall give him a written decision approving his participation despite the financial interests of his company. There is no violation. There is also an exemption for appointed and elected employees if the employee`s job is to address a policy issue and the employee`s financial interest is shared with a significant portion (usually 10% or more) of the urban population, such as a financial interest in property tax rates or municipal utility rates.

Please confirm that I have received a copy of the summary of the Conflict of Interest Act There are several exceptions to this section of the Act. An appointed municipal employee may submit a written declaration of financial interest to his or her appointing authority and obtain permission to participate despite the conflict. The appointing authority may grant written authorisation if it finds that the financial interest in question is not sufficiently important to affect the integrity of its services to the municipality. Participation without disclosure of financial interests is an offence. Elected employees cannot use the disclosure process because they do not have employment authority. A municipal employee cannot participate in a particular matter in which he or a member of his or her immediate family (parents, children, siblings, spouses and parents, children and siblings of the spouse) has a financial interest. Nor can he participate in a particular matter in which a potential employer or a business organization of which he is a director, officer, trustee or employee has a financial interest. Participation includes both discussion and voting on an issue and delegation of an issue to another person. This summary is not intended to be legal advice, and since it is a summary, it does not mention all the conflict-of-laws provisions that may apply in a particular situation of financial interest, whether it is a large or small conflict of interest, positive or negative. In other words, it doesn`t matter if there is a lot of money or little money involved. It also doesn`t matter if you put money in their pocket or withdraw it.

If you, your immediate family, business or employer have or have a financial interest in a business, you are not allowed to participate. The financial interest must be direct and immediate or reasonably foreseeable in order to create a conflict. Distant, speculative or insufficiently identifiable financial interests do not lead to conflicts. On July 1, 2009, Governor Patrick signed Chapter 28 of the Statutes of 2009, which made significant amendments to the Crown Conflict of Interest Act and the State Ethics Committee Enabling Act. These changes include mandatory education and training requirements under the Conflict of Interest Act for public servants at all levels of government. Under the Crown Conflict of Interest Act, the term „employee“ includes full-time and part-time municipal employees, as well as elected officials, persons appointed by committees and committees, and persons under contract or on a consulting basis. This does not apply to members of the Charter Commission or members of the Municipal Assembly. Partners of municipal employees and former municipal employees are also subject to restrictions under the Conflict of Interest Act. If a municipal employee has been involved in a matter, or if he or she has formal responsibility for a matter, his or her partner may not act on behalf of a person other than the municipality or provide services as a lawyer to any person other than the city or municipality in connection with the matter. Chapter 28 of the statutes of 2009, the recently passed Ethics Reform Act, imposes new mandatory education and training requirements on employers and public sector workers. The law empowers the Commission to establish procedures for the implementation and compliance with these requirements and these implementation procedures are adopted in accordance with this authority.

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