Chapter 389
2004 -- S 2667
SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/05/04
A N A C T
RELATING
TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- CODE OF ETHICS
Introduced
By: Senators Paiva-Weed, Goodwin, McCaffrey, Gallo, and Perry
Date
Introduced: February 11, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 36-14-2 and 36-14-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-14
entitled
"Code of Ethics" are hereby amended to read as follows:
36-14-2.
Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:
(1) "Any person within his other family" means a spouse and any
dependent children of
any
public official or public employee as well as a person who is related to any
public official or
public
employee, whether by blood, adoption or marriage, as any of the following:
father, mother,
son,
daughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter,
father-in-law,
mother-in-law,
brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepfather,
stepmother,
stepson,
stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, halfbrother or halfsister;
(2) "Business" means a sole proprietorship, partnership, firm,
corporation, holding
company,
joint stock company, receivership, trust, or any other entity recognized in law
through
which
business for profit or not for profit is conducted;
(3) "Business associate" means a person joined together with another
person to achieve a
common
financial objective;
(4) "Employees of state and local government, of boards, commissions and
agencies"
means
any full time or part time employees in the classified, nonclassified and
unclassified
service
of the state or of any city or town within the state, any individuals serving
in any
appointed
state or municipal position, and any employees of any public or quasi-public
state or
municipal
board, commission, or corporation;
(5) "Governmental function" means any action that is public in nature
and is performed
for
the common good of all the people;
(6) "Open and public process" means the open solicitation for bids or
proposals from the
general
public by public announcement or public advertising followed by a public
disclosure of
all
bids or proposals considered and contracts awarded;
(7) "Person" means an individual or a business entity;
(8) (i) "State agency" means any department, division, agency,
commission, board,
office,
bureau, authority, or quasi-public authority within Rhode Island, either branch
of the
Rhode
Island general assembly, or an agency or committee thereof, the judiciary, or
any other
agency
that is in any branch of Rhode Island state government and which exercises
governmental
functions
other than in an advisory nature;
(ii) "Municipal agency" means any department, division, agency,
commission, board,
office,
bureau, authority, quasi-public authority, or school, fire or water district
within Rhode
Island
other than a state agency and any other agency that is in any branch of
municipal
government
and exercises governmental functions other than in an advisory nature;
(9) "State or municipal appointed official" means any officer or
member of a state or
municipal
agency as defined herein who is appointed for a term of office specified by the
constitution
or a statute of this state or a charter or ordinance of any city or town or who
is
appointed
by or through the governing body or highest official of state or municipal
government;
(10) "State or municipal elected official" means any person holding
any elective public
office
pursuant to a general or special election;
(11) A person's natural child, adopted child, or stepchild is his or her
"dependent child"
during
a calendar year if the person provides over fifty percent (50%) of the child's
support
during
the year;
(12) A person "represents" him or herself before a state or municipal
agency if he or she
participates
in the presentation of evidence or arguments before that agency for the purpose
of
influencing
the judgment of the agency in his or her own favor;
(13) A person "represents" another person before a state or municipal
agency if he or she
is
authorized by that other person to act, and does in fact act, as that other
person's attorney at law
or
his or her attorney in fact in the presentation of evidence or arguments before
that agency for
the
purpose of influencing the judgment of the agency in favor of that other person.;
(14)
"Major decision-making position" means the executive or
administrative head or
heads
of a state agency, whether elected or appointed or serving as an employee and
all members
of
the judiciary, both state and municipal. For state agencies, a "major
decision-making position"
shall
include the positions of deputy director, executive director, assistant
director and chief of
staff.
36-14-16.
Financial statement to be filed. -- (a) On or before the last Friday in
April of
each
year, every person enumerated in section 36-14-4(1) and section 36-14-4(2)
the following
officials
and employees subject to this code of ethics shall file with the commission a
financial
statement
complying with the requirements of this chapter.:
(1)
all state elected officials;
(2)
all state appointed officials;
(3)
all state appointed officials and employees who hold a major decision-making
position
in a state agency;
(4)
all municipal elected officials; and
(5)
all municipal appointed officials whose official duties and responsibilities
include
exercising
decision-making authority over the expenditure of more than fifty thousand
dollars
($50,000)
in public funds in any fiscal or calendar year, and expressly including
solicitors and
assistant
solicitors, police chiefs, fire chiefs, superintendents of schools, principals,
superintendents
and administrators of charter schools, board members of charter schools,
principals,
superintendents and administrators of state schools, board members of state
schools,
building
inspectors, members of planning boards, zoning boards, licensing boards and tax
appeal
boards.
This subsection shall also include all municipal appointed officials whose
official duties
and
responsibilities include nominating, appointing or hiring any persons that will
receive
compensation
of more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in public funds in any fiscal or
calendar
year.
(b)
In the case of state and municipal appointed officials on and after January 1,
1988, the
appointee
shall file the financial statement within thirty (30) days after the date of
his or her
appointment
or the date he or she qualifies for the office; provided, however, that in the
case of
the
appointment of officials that require senate confirmation, the appointee shall
file the financial
statement
with the appropriate senate committee prior to the institution of those
confirmation
proceedings.
(c) Within thirty (30) days after the filing deadline, every person who is a
candidate for
an
office as an elected officer, except those candidates for moderator and clerk
of a voting district
of
the cities and towns, shall file the financial statement as required by this
chapter. The
commission
shall grant an extension for good cause shown of not more than fifteen (15)
days,
provided
a request for the extension is received prior to the filing deadline for the financial
statement.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, at least thirty (30) days
before the
deadline
date for the filing of a financial statement by each individual required to
file, the
commission
shall mail to the individual two (2) copies a copy of the
financial statement form. In
the
case of candidates other than those covered by subsection (f) of this section,
the forms shall be
mailed
within ten (10) days after the filing deadline date. In the case of appointed
officers
covered
by this section, the forms shall be mailed within seven (7) days after the date
of the
appointment.
(e) If a person has filed a financial statement as required by one subsection
of this
section
covering the preceding calendar year, he or she is not required to file a
financial statement
as
required by another subsection if, before the deadline for filing under the
other subsection, he
or
she notifies the commission in writing that he or she has already filed a
financial statement
under
the subsection specified.
(f) A person required to file a financial statement under subsection (a) of
this section
may
request the commission to grant an extension of time of not more than sixty
(60) days for
filing
the statement. The commission shall grant the extension of not more than sixty
(60) days if
the
request is received prior to the filing deadline or if a timely filing or
request for extension is
prevented
because of physical or mental incapacity. Not more than one extension may be
given to
a
person in one year except for good cause shown.
(g) The deadline for filing any statement required by this section is 5:00 P.M.
of the last
day
designated in the pertinent subsection of this section for filing the
statement. When the last
day
of filing falls on a Saturday or Sunday or an official state holiday, the
deadline for filing is
extended
to 5:00 P.M. of the next day which is not a Saturday or Sunday or holiday. Any
statement
required by any provision of this section to be filed within a specified time
period shall
be
deemed to be timely filed if it is placed in the United States post office or
in the hands of a
common
or contract carrier properly addressed to the appropriate authority within the
time limits
applicable
to the statement. The postmark or receipt mark (if received by a common or
contract
carrier)
will be prima facie evidence of the date that the statement was deposited with
the post
office
or carrier. The person filing the statement may show by competent evidence that
the actual
date
of posting was to the contrary.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01108/SUB
A
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