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OLR Bill Analysis
SB 1430
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
OFFICE OF STATE ETHICS FOR REVISIONS TO THE STATE CODE
OF ETHICS.
SUMMARY
This bill primarily makes two changes to the state Code of Ethics for
Public Officials (see BACKGROUND). It (1) expands what constitutes a
conflict of interest under the code to include actions that a public official
or state employee has reason to believe or expect will result in a direct
monetary gain or loss to his or her nonstate employer or spouse’s
nonstate employer and (2) expands the range of officials who must file
a statement of financial interests with the Office of State Ethics (OSE) to
include members of any Executive Department board, commission,
committee, or council authorized to enter into or approve a large state
construction or procurement contract.
The code generally places certain limits on how public officials
(including elected state officials) may take official action on a matter for
which they have a conflict of interest (depending on whether it is a
substantial or potential conflict). Under existing law, unchanged by the
bill, a substantial conflict of interest exists if the official or employee has
reason to believe or expect that their actions will result in a direct
monetary gain or loss to themselves or a business with which they are
associated.
For elected state officials, the bill also limits the circumstances when
a substantial conflict of interest could arise. It does so by specifying that
in matters concerning a business the official, or their or their spouse’s
nonstate employer, is associated with, the official must have actual
knowledge (rather than reason to believe or expect) that the business or
nonstate employer will get a direct monetary gain or loss due to their
actions. 2025SB-01430-R000295-BA.DOCX
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As under existing law, a substantial conflict does not exist if the
monetary gain or loss to the nonstate employer is no greater than the
gain or loss realized by any other member of the same profession,
occupation, or group.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
CONFLICTS OF INTERES T
Substantial Conflicts of Interest (§ 1)
Current law prohibits public officials and state employees from
taking official action on a matter for which they have a substantial
conflict of interest. By deeming actions a public official (including an
elected state official) or state employee has reason to believe will, or
expects to, result in a direct monetary gain or loss to their or their
spouse’s nonstate employer as a substantial conflict of interest, the bill
generally prohibits officials and employees from taking these actions.
For elected state officials under the bill, however, a substantial
conflict of interest only exists if the official has actual knowledge that
either a business the official is associated with, or their or their spouse’s
nonstate employer, will get a direct monetary gain or loss due to their
actions. Under the bill, a business the official is associated with generally
includes any business entity in which the official or a 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 at least 5%
of the total outstanding stock (excluding nonprofit entities for which
they are unpaid directors or officers).
If elected state officials have a substantial conflict of interest due to
their or their spouse’s nonstate employer, the bill requires them to either
(1) recuse themselves from the matter or (2) prepare a written statement
under penalty of false statement before acting on it. The statement must
describe the matter requiring action, the potential conflict, and why,
despite the conflict, the official is able to vote or otherwise participate
fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. The official must submit the
statement to OSE and enter a copy of it into his or her agency’s journal
or minutes (or submit it to the agency if it does not have a journal or 2025SB-01430-R000295-BA.DOCX
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minutes). By law, a false statement is a class A misdemeanor, punishable
by up to 364 days in prison, a fine of up to $2,000, or both (CGS § 53a-
157b).
Potential Conflicts of Interest (§ 2)
Under current law, a public official or state employee has a potential
conflict of interest if their official duties require them to take action that
would affect their own financial interest or that of their spouse, parent,
sibling, child, or child’s spouse (other than one of a minimal nature or
that is not distinct from that of a substantial segment of the general
public). The bill expands a potential conflict of interest to include those
actions involving their or their spouse’s nonstate employer.
As under the existing law for addressing potential conflicts of
interest, if the official or employee is a member of a state regulatory
agency, he or she must either (1) recuse himself or herself from the
matter or (2) prepare a written statement as described above. The bill
further requires that this statement be (1) prepared before taking official
action and (2) submitted to the agency if it does not have a journal or
minutes.
By law, officials and employees who are not members of a regulatory
agency must prepare a written statement under penalty of false
statement that describes the matter requiring action and the potential
conflict. They must deliver a copy to (1) their immediate supervisor,
who must reassign the matter, or (2) OSE if they do not have an
immediate supervisor. In this case, the official or employee must take
steps that OSE prescribes or advises.
STATEMENTS OF FINANC IAL INTERESTS
The bill expands the range of officials who must file a statement of
financial interests with OSE to include members of any Executive
Department board, commission, committee, or council authorized to
enter into or approve a large state construction or procurement contract.
Current law requires all state-wide elected officers, General Assembly
members, department heads and deputies, quasi-public agency
members or directors, Investment Advisory Council members, and 2025SB-01430-R000295-BA.DOCX
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other governor-designated officials to file these statements with OSE.
Under the bill, a “large state construction or procurement contract”
is a contract for more than $500,000 to (1) remodel, alter, repair, or
enlarge any real asset; (2) construct, alter, reconstruct, improve, relocate,
widen, or change the grade of a section of a state highway or a bridge;
(3) buy or lease supplies, materials, or equipment; or (4) construct,
reconstruct, alter, remodel, repair, or demolish any public building.
By law, the statement of financial interests must include, among other
things, the name of securities with a fair market value over $5,000
owned by the official or his or her spouse or dependent children, or held
in the name of a corporation, partnership, or trust for their benefit.
Under the bill, if these securities are a tax-sheltered annuity retirement
plan under federal tax law (i.e. a “403(b) plan”), then only the name of
the retirement savings plan must be disclosed and not the name of the
securities. Current law makes a similar allowance for other savings
plans allowed under federal tax law (e.g., 401(k) retirement savings
plans, 529 education savings plans).
BACKGROUND
“Public Officials” Under the Code of Ethics
Under the state Code of Ethics for Public Officials, a “public official”
is any:
1. state-wide elected officer or officer-elect;
2. member or member-elect of the General Assembly;
3. person appointed to an office of the state government’s
legislative, judicial, or executive branch by the governor or his
appointee, with or without the legislature’s advice and consent;
4. public member or representative of the teachers’ unions or state
employees’ unions appointed to the Investment Advisory
Council;
5. person appointed or elected by the General Assembly or by any 2025SB-01430-R000295-BA.DOCX
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member of either legislative chamber;
6. member or director of a quasi-public agency; or
7. spouse of the governor.
Public officials under the code do not include advisory board
members, judges of any court either elected or appointed, or senators or
representatives in Congress (CGS § 1-79(11)).
Related Bills
HB 6931 (File 85), reported favorably by the Government Oversight
Committee, has identical provisions on conflicts of interest (§§ 1 & 2 of
this bill).
SB 1296 (File 78), reported favorably by the Government Oversight
Committee, has identical provisions on statements of financial interest
(§ 3 of this bill).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/12/2025)