FRASER 4 REP NOW OFFICIAL & CONFLICT OF INTEREST UPDATE

Newly created 2nd Franklin District

FRASER 4 REP NOW OFFICIAL  &
CONFLICT OF INTEREST UPDATE

I am now an official candidate!! I filed my SFI - Statement of Financial Interest with the State Ethics Commission and then filed the certified signatures with the Secretary of State's Election Division.  There I ran into US Senate candidate, Marisa DeFranco, who was filing her certified signatures at the next counter.  

While I was at the State Ethics Commission, I requested to speak with the investigator who was handling the complaint I filed against Representative Andrews concerning a possible conflict of interest in cosponsoring drug legislation while working for a major drug company.  I expressed concern that the campaign season had begun, and it wouldn't be fair to allow a cloud to hang over Andrew's candidacy if she were to be ultimately exonerated.  The investigator explained that she hadn't returned my calls because the case involved an ongoing investigation.  

I mentioned my concern that an exemption existed for legislators for general legislation if they had a financial stake as long as they filed a disclosure.  I suggested that the exemption allowed legislators to become defacto lobbyists.  Though the ethics law barred the front door, it allowed the back door to be open and ready for business.  I also suggested that legislation should be filed to close the loop-hole.

The investigator's response was to send me the Commission's Advisory 98-01 on the Conflict of Interest Law and Legislator's Private Employment.  The advisory reads, in part:

"The feature that distinguishes special from general legislation is the "particularity of the scope and purposes of the act's provisions." If a bill provides assistance to all cities, towns and counties as well as to the Commonwealth, the Ethics Commission has concluded that the bill is a matter of general legislation.  In addition, even though the subject matter of a bill may have a special effect upon one or more individual cities or towns, if the main purposes of the bill are to achieve state, regional or general objectives, the bill will not be considered special legislation. In contrast, if the legislation creates an exception or special rule which does not apply to other similarly situated individuals, the legislation will be regarded as special legislation. Legislation that practically affects a single community is regarded as special legislation, even where the act is drafted in more general terms."

"Thus, § 6 does not prohibit a legislator from participating in any general legislation which may affect her financial interest or that of her private employer. However, § 6 does prohibit a legislator from acting on any special legislation, any budget line item or any constituent service, in which the legislator or her private employer has a financial interest."

 In regard to the Representative Andrews case, the matter rests with the State Ethics Commission. 

Genevieve