General Assembly Raised Bill No. 987
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 4836
*04836_______GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 987
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 4836
*04836_______GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT REVISING THE STATE CODES OF ETHICS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (2) of section 1-79 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(2) ["Business with which he is associated"] "Business with which the person is associated" means any sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, trust or other entity through which business for profit or not for profit is conducted in which the public official or state employee or member of his or her immediate family is a director, officer, owner, limited or general partner, beneficiary of a trust or holder of stock constituting five per cent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class, provided, a public official or state employee, or member of his or her immediate family, shall not be deemed to be associated with a not for profit entity solely by virtue of the fact that the public official or state employee or member of his or her immediate family is an unpaid director or officer of the not for profit entity. ["Officer"] "Business with which the person is associated" also includes a second business held by the business with which the person is associated, if the business with which the person is associated is a director, officer, owner, limited or general partner, beneficiary of a trust or holder of stock constituting five per cent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class of such second business. For the purposes of this subdivision, "officer" refers only to the president, executive or senior vice president or treasurer of such business, and to any person who exercises exclusive control over such business.
Sec. 2. Section 1-79 of the general statutes is amended by adding subdivision (21) as follows (Effective October 1, 2017):
(NEW) (21) "Confidential information" means any information in the possession of the state, a state employee or a public official, whatever its form, which (A) is required not to be disclosed to the general public (i) under any state or federal statute, regulation, policy or provision, or (ii) pursuant to a state contract or the order of any court of competent jurisdiction; or (B) falls within a category of permissibly nondisclosable information under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, and which the appropriate agency, state employee or public official has decided not to disclose to the general public.
Sec. 3. Subsection (g) of section 1-81 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(g) There shall be an enforcement division within the Office of State Ethics. The enforcement division shall be responsible for investigating complaints brought to or by the board. The ethics enforcement officer, described in subsection (c) of this section, shall supervise the enforcement division. The ethics enforcement officer may represent the Office of State Ethics before the Superior Court in an appeal of any ruling or finding pursuant to, or any matter arising under, section 1-82, 1-93 or 1-101nn, provided the board is not a party in any such appeal. The enforcement division shall employ such attorneys and investigators, as necessary, within available appropriations, and may refer matters to the office of the Chief State's Attorney, as appropriate.
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 1-84 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(c) No public official or state employee shall wilfully and knowingly disclose, for financial gain, to any other person, confidential information acquired by [him] such official or employee in the course of and by reason of his or her official duties or employment and no public official or state employee shall use his or her public office or position or any confidential information received through [his] holding such public office or position to obtain financial gain for himself or herself, his or her spouse, child, child's spouse, parent, brother or sister or a business with which [he] the person is associated.
Sec. 5. Subsection (f) of section 1-84 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(f) No person shall offer or give to a public official or state employee or candidate for public office or his or her spouse, [his] parent, brother, sister or child or spouse of such child or a business with which [he] the person is associated, anything of value, including, but not limited to, a gift, loan, political contribution, reward or promise of future employment based on any understanding that the vote, official action or judgment of the public official, state employee or candidate for public office would be or had been influenced thereby.
Sec. 6. Subsections (i) and (j) of section 1-84 of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(i) (1) No public official or state employee or member of the official or employee's immediate family or a business with which [he] the person is associated shall enter into any contract with the state, valued at one hundred dollars or more, other than a contract (A) of employment as a state employee, (B) with the technical high school system for students enrolled in a school in the system to perform services in conjunction with vocational, technical or technological education and training any such student is receiving at a school in the system, subject to the review process under subdivision (2) of this subsection, (C) with a public institution of higher education to support a collaboration with such institution to develop and commercialize any invention or discovery, or (D) pursuant to a court appointment, unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including prior public offer and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered and the contract awarded. In no event shall an executive head of an agency, as defined in section 4-166, including a commissioner of a department, or an executive head of a quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-79, as amended by this act, or the executive head's immediate family or a business with which [he] the person is associated enter into any contract with that agency or quasi-public agency. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as applying to any public official who is appointed as a member of the executive branch or as a member or director of a quasi-public agency and who receives no compensation other than per diem payments or reimbursement for actual or necessary expenses, or both, incurred in the performance of the public official's duties unless such public official has authority or control over the subject matter of the contract. Any contract made in violation of this subsection shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction if the suit is commenced not later than one hundred eighty days after the making of the contract.
(2) The superintendent of the technical high school system shall establish an open and transparent process to review any contract entered into under subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(j) No public official, state employee or candidate for public office, or a member of any such person's staff or immediate family shall knowingly solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, as defined in subdivision (5) of section 1-79, from a person known to be a registrant or anyone known to be acting on behalf of a registrant.
Sec. 7. Subsection (m) of section 1-84 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(m) No public official or state employee shall knowingly solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, as defined in subdivision (5) of section 1-79, from any person the public official or state employee knows or has reason to know: (1) Is doing business with or seeking to do business with the department or agency in which the public official or state employee is employed; (2) is engaged in activities which are directly regulated by such department or agency; or (3) is prequalified under section 4a-100. No person shall knowingly give, directly or indirectly, any gift or gifts in violation of this provision. For the purposes of this subsection, the exclusion to the term "gift" in subparagraph (L) of subdivision (5) of section 1-79 for a gift for the celebration of a major life event shall not apply. Any person prohibited from making a gift under this subsection shall report to the Office of State Ethics any solicitation of a gift from such person by a [state employee or] public official or state employee.
Sec. 8. Subsection (o) of section 1-84 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(o) If (1) any person (A) is doing business with or seeking to do business with the department or agency in which a public official or state employee is employed, or (B) is engaged in activities which are directly regulated by such department or agency, and (2) such person or a representative of such person gives to such public official or state employee anything [of value which is subject to the reporting requirements pursuant to subsection (e) of section 1-96] having a value of more than ten dollars, such person or representative shall, not later than ten days thereafter, give such recipient and the executive head of the recipient's department or agency a written report stating the name of the donor, a description of the item or items given, the value of such items and the cumulative value of all items given to such recipient during that calendar year. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a political contribution otherwise reported as required by law.
Sec. 9. Subsection (p) of section 1-84 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(p) (1) No public official or state employee or member of the immediate family of a public official or state employee shall knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, any gift costing [one hundred] two hundred fifty dollars or more in the aggregate during a calendar year from a public official or state employee who is under the supervision of such public official or state employee.
(2) No public official or state employee or member of the immediate family of a public official or state employee shall knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, any gift costing [one hundred] two hundred fifty dollars or more in the aggregate during a calendar year from a public official or state employee who is a supervisor of such public official or state employee.
(3) No public official or state employee shall knowingly give, directly or indirectly, any gift in violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection.
Sec. 10. Section 1-84c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the donation of goods or services, as described in subparagraph (E) of subdivision (5) of section 1-79, to a state agency or quasi-public agency, the donation of the use of facilities to facilitate state agency or quasi-public agency action or functions or the donation of real property to a state agency or quasi-public agency. [As used in this section, "state agency" and "quasi-public agency" have the same meanings as provided in section 1-79.]
(b) If a public official or state employee receives goods or services to support such official's or employee's participation at an event as described in subparagraph (E) of subdivision (5) of section 1-79, and such goods or services (1) include lodging or out-of-state travel, or both, and (2) are not provided by the federal government or another state government, such official or employee shall, not later than thirty days after receipt of such goods or services, file a report with the Office of State Ethics. Such report shall be on an electronic form prescribed by the board and shall certify to the Office of State Ethics, under penalty of false statement, that the goods or services received in support of such official's or employee's participation at an event facilitated state action or functions. If a public official or state employee does not file a report within such thirty-day period, either intentionally or due to gross negligence on the official's or employee's part, the official or employee shall return to the donor the value of the goods or services received. Unless the failure to file such report is intentional or due to gross negligence, the public official or state employee shall not be subject to any penalty under this chapter.
Sec. 11. Subsection (a) of section 1-90a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1-84, 1-84a, 1-85 and 1-86, a public official or state employee of a public institution of higher education whose employment is derived from such official's or employee's status as a student at such institution shall not be subject to the provisions of said sections, if (1) such institution has adopted written policies and procedures to regulate student conduct concerning conflicts of interest relating to student public office holding or state employment, and (2) such policies and procedures have been approved by the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board in accordance with subsection (b) of this section.
Sec. 12. Subdivision (1) of section 1-101mm of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(1) "Business with which the person is associated" means any sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, trust or other entity through which business for-profit or not-for-profit is conducted in which the person or member of the immediate family of any person who is an individual is a director, officer, owner, limited or general partner, beneficiary of a trust or holder of stock constituting five per cent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class, provided, a person who is an individual or a member of the immediate family of such individual shall not be deemed to be associated with a not-for-profit entity solely by virtue of the fact that such individual or immediate family member is an unpaid director or officer of the not-for-profit entity. ["Officer"] "Business with which the person is associated" also includes a second business held by the business with which the person is associated, if the business with which the person is associated is a director, officer, owner, limited or general partner, beneficiary of a trust or holder of stock constituting five per cent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class of such second business. For the purposes of this subdivision, "officer" refers only to the president, executive or senior vice president or treasurer of such business, and to any person who exercises exclusive control over such business.
Sec. 13. Section 1-101pp of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
Any commissioner, deputy commissioner, state agency or quasi-public agency head or deputy, or person in charge of state agency procurement, [and] contracting or human resources who has reasonable cause to believe that a person has violated the provisions of the Code of Ethics for Public Officials set forth in part I of this chapter or any law or regulation concerning ethics in state contracting shall report such belief to the Office of State Ethics, which may further report such information to the Auditor of Public Accounts, the Chief State's Attorney or the Attorney General.
Sec. 14. Section 1-85 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
A public official, including an elected state official, or state employee has an interest which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or her duties or employment in the public interest and of his or her responsibilities as prescribed in the laws of this state, if [he] such official or state employee has reason to believe or expect that [he, his] such official or employee, such official's or employee's spouse, a dependent child, or a business with which [he] the person is associated will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss, as the case may be, by reason of his or her official activity. A public official, including an elected state official, or state employee does not have an interest which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or her duties in the public interest and of his or her responsibilities as prescribed by the laws of this state, if any benefit or detriment accrues to [him, his] such official or employee, such official's or employee's spouse, a dependent child, or a business with which [he, his] such official or employee or such official's or employee's spouse or [such] dependent child is associated as a member of a profession, occupation or group to no greater extent than any other member of such profession, occupation or group. A public official, including an elected state official or state employee who has a substantial conflict may not take official action on the matter. For the purposes of this section, "business with which such official or employee or such official's or employee's spouse or dependent child is associated" has the same meaning as "business with which the person is associated".
Sec. 15. Subsection (j) of section 4e-2 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(j) No employee of the State Contracting Standards Board shall hold another state or municipal position. No nonclerical employee of the board or any spouse, child, stepchild, parent or sibling of such employee, shall be associated with an enterprise that does business with the state. For purposes of this subsection, "associated with" means "business with which [he] the person is associated", as defined in section 1-79, as amended by this act. Each member and employee of the State Contracting Standards Board shall file, with the board and with the Office of State Ethics, a statement of financial interests, as described in section 1-83. Such statement shall be a public record. Such statements for the preceding calendar year shall be filed with the Office of State Ethics, as required by law, if such employee or member held such a position during the preceding calendar year.
Sec. 16. Subsection (b) of section 7-148h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any special act, municipal charter or ordinance to the contrary, an elected official of any town, city, district or borough that has established a board, commission, council, committee or other agency under subsection (a) of this section, has an interest that is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of the official's duties or employment in the public interest and of the official's responsibilities as prescribed by the laws of this state, if the official has reason to believe or expect that the official, the official's spouse or dependent child, or a business with which [he] the person is associated, as defined in section 1-79, as amended by this act, will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss, as the case may be, by reason of the official's official activity. Any such elected official does not have an interest that is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of the official's duties in the public interest and of the official's responsibilities as prescribed by the laws of this state, if any benefit or detriment accrues to the official, the official's spouse or dependent child, or a business with which [he, his] such official, such official's spouse or [such] dependent child is associated as a member of a profession, occupation or group to no greater extent than to any other member of such profession, occupation or group. Any such elected official who has a substantial conflict may not take official action on the matter. For the purposes of this subsection, "business with which such official, such official's spouse or dependent child is associated" has the same meaning as "business with which the person is associated", as defined in section 1-79, as amended by this act.
Sec. 17. Sections 1-80b to 1-80d, inclusive, of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective October 1, 2017)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2017 1-79(2)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2017 1-79
Sec. 3 October 1, 2017 1-81(g)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2017 1-84(c)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2017 1-84(f)
Sec. 6 October 1, 2017 1-84(i) and (j)
Sec. 7 October 1, 2017 1-84(m)
Sec. 8 October 1, 2017 1-84(o)
Sec. 9 October 1, 2017 1-84(p)
Sec. 10 October 1, 2017 1-84c
Sec. 11 October 1, 2017 1-90a(a)
Sec. 12 October 1, 2017 1-101mm(1)
Sec. 13 October 1, 2017 1-101pp
Sec. 14 October 1, 2017 1-85
Sec. 15 October 1, 2017 4e-2(j)
Sec. 16 October 1, 2017 7-148h(b)
Sec. 17 October 1, 2017 Repealer section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2017
1-79(2)
Sec. 2
October 1, 2017
1-79
Sec. 3
October 1, 2017
1-81(g)
Sec. 4
October 1, 2017
1-84(c)
Sec. 5
October 1, 2017
1-84(f)
Sec. 6
October 1, 2017
1-84(i) and (j)
Sec. 7
October 1, 2017
1-84(m)
Sec. 8
October 1, 2017
1-84(o)
Sec. 9
October 1, 2017
1-84(p)
Sec. 10
October 1, 2017
1-84c
Sec. 11
October 1, 2017
1-90a(a)
Sec. 12
October 1, 2017
1-101mm(1)
Sec. 13
October 1, 2017
1-101pp
Sec. 14
October 1, 2017
1-85
Sec. 15
October 1, 2017
4e-2(j)
Sec. 16
October 1, 2017
7-148h(b)
Sec. 17
October 1, 2017
Repealer section
Statement of Purpose:
To amend the state code of ethics for public officials to redefine "business with which the person is associated", define "confidential information", give additional authority to ethics enforcement officers, prohibit the soliciting of gifts by those prohibited from accepting gifts, limit gift giving between supervisors and subordinates, add a reporting requirement for certain gifts to the state, exempt students who serve as public officials from certain provisions of the code, require certain human resources personnel to report suspected ethics violations and to make other revisions to the code.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]