Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                     Raised Bill No. 483
       February Session, 2020              LCO No. 1570
     Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
     AND ELECTIONS
     Introduced by:
       (GAE)
 AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO THE STATE CODES OF
 ETHICS.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
       Section 1. Subdivision (5) of section 1-79 of the 2020 supplement to
    the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
    thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
       (5) "Gift" means anything of value, which is directly and personally
    received, unless consideration of equal or greater value is given in
    return. "Gift" does not include:
      (A) A political contribution otherwise reported as required by law or
    a donation or payment as described in subdivision (9) or (10) of
    subsection (b) of section 9-601a;
      (B) Services provided by persons volunteering their time, if provided
   to aid or promote the success or defeat of any political party, any
   candidate or candidates for public office or the position of convention
   delegate or town committee member or any referendum question;
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    (C) A commercially reasonable loan made on terms not more
 favorable than loans made in the ordinary course of business;
    (D) A gift received from (i) an individual's spouse, [fiance or fiancee]
 fianc or fiance, (ii) the parent, grandparent, brother or sister of such
 spouse or such individual, or (iii) the child of such individual or the
 spouse of such child;
    (E) Goods or services (i) that are provided to a state agency or quasi-
 public agency (I) for use on state or quasi-public agency property, or (II)
 that support an event or the participation by a public official or state
 employee at an event, and (ii) that facilitate state or quasi-public agency
 action or functions. As used in this subparagraph, "state property"
 means property owned by the state or a quasi-public agency or property
 leased to a state agency or quasi-public agency;
   (F) A certificate, plaque or other ceremonial award costing less than
 one hundred dollars;
   (G) A rebate, discount or promotional item available to the general
 public;
    (H) Printed or recorded informational material germane to state
 action or functions;
    (I) Food or beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars in the
 aggregate per recipient in a calendar year, and consumed on an occasion
 or occasions at which the person paying, directly or indirectly, for the
 food or beverage, or his representative, is in attendance;
    (J) Food or beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars per person
 and consumed at a publicly noticed legislative reception to which all
 members of the General Assembly are invited and which is hosted not
 more than once in any calendar year by a lobbyist or business
 organization. For the purposes of such limit, (i) a reception hosted by a
 lobbyist who is an individual shall be deemed to have also been hosted
 by the business organization which such lobbyist owns or is employed
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 by, and (ii) a reception hosted by a business organization shall be
 deemed to have also been hosted by all owners and employees of the
 business organization who are lobbyists. In making the calculation for
 the purposes of such fifty-dollar limit, the donor shall divide the amount
 spent on food and beverage by the number of persons whom the donor
 reasonably expects to attend the reception;
    (K) Food or beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars per person
 and consumed at a publicly noticed reception to which all members of
 the General Assembly from a region of the state are invited and which
 is hosted not more than once in any calendar year by a lobbyist or
 business organization. For the purposes of such limit, (i) a reception
 hosted by a lobbyist who is an individual shall be deemed to have also
 been hosted by the business organization which such lobbyist owns or
 is employed by, and (ii) a reception hosted by a business organization
 shall be deemed to have also been hosted by all owners and employees
 of the business organization who are lobbyists. In making the
 calculation for the purposes of such fifty-dollar limit, the donor shall
 divide the amount spent on food and beverage by the number of
 persons whom the donor reasonably expects to attend the reception. As
 used in this subparagraph, "region of the state" means the established
 geographic service area of the organization hosting the reception;
    (L) A gift, including, but not limited to, food or beverage or both,
 provided by an individual for the celebration of a major life event,
 provided any such gift provided by an individual who is not a member
 of the family of the recipient does not exceed one thousand dollars in
 value;
    (M) Gifts costing less than one hundred dollars in the aggregate or
 food or beverage provided at a hospitality suite at a meeting or
 conference of an interstate legislative association, by a person who is not
 a registrant or is not doing business with the state of Connecticut;
   (N) Admission to a charitable or civic event, including food and
 beverage provided at such event, but excluding lodging or travel
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 expenses, at which a public official or state employee participates in his
 or her official capacity, provided such admission is provided by the
 primary sponsoring entity;
     (O) Anything of value provided by an employer of (i) a public official,
 (ii) a state employee, or (iii) a spouse of a public official or state
 employee, to such official, employee or spouse, provided such benefits
 are customarily and ordinarily provided to others in similar
 circumstances;
    (P) Anything having a value of not more than ten dollars, provided
 the aggregate value of all things provided by a donor to a recipient
 under this subdivision in any calendar year does not exceed fifty dollars;
    (Q) Training that is provided by a vendor for a product purchased by
 a state or quasi-public agency that is offered to all customers of such
 vendor;
    (R) Travel expenses, lodging, food, beverage and other benefits
 customarily provided by a prospective employer, when provided to a
 student at a public institution of higher education whose employment
 is derived from such student's status as a student at such institution, in
 connection with bona fide employment discussions; or
    (S) Expenses of a public official, paid by the party committee of which
 party such official is a member, for the purpose of accomplishing the
 lawful purposes of the committee. As used in this subparagraph, "party
 committee" has the same meaning as provided in subdivision (2) of
 section 9-601 and "lawful purposes of the committee" has the same
 meaning as provided in subsection (g) of section 9-607.
   Sec. 2. Section 1-79 of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes is
 amended by adding subdivision (21) as follows (Effective October 1,
 2020):
   (NEW) (21) "Confidential information" means any information in the
 possession of the state, a state employee or a public official, whatever its
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 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 (c) of section 1-81 of the general statutes is repealed
 and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
    (c) The Office of State Ethics shall employ an executive director,
 general counsel and ethics enforcement officer, each of whom shall be
 exempt from classified state service. The ethics enforcement officer shall
 be a member of the bar of this state. The salary for the executive director,
 general counsel and the ethics enforcement officer shall be determined
 by the Commissioner of Administrative Services in accordance with
 accepted personnel practices. No one person may serve in more than
 one of the positions described in this subsection. The Office of State
 Ethics may employ necessary staff within available appropriations.
 Such necessary staff of the Office of State Ethics shall be in classified
 state service.
   Sec. 4. Subsection (g) of section 1-81 of the general statutes is repealed
 and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
    (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 any appeal of any
 ruling or finding pursuant to, or any matter arising under, section 1-82,
 1-93, as amended by this act, or 1-101nn, provided the board is not a
 party in such appeal. The enforcement division shall employ such
 attorneys and investigators, as necessary, within available
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 appropriations, and may refer matters to the office of the Chief State's
 Attorney, as appropriate.
   Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 1-82 of the general statutes is repealed
 and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
    (b) If a judge trial referee determines that probable cause exists for
 the violation of a provision of this part, section 1-101bb or section 1-
 101nn, the board shall initiate hearings to determine whether there has
 been a violation of this part, section 1-101bb or section 1-101nn. Any
 such hearing shall be initiated by the board not later than thirty days
 after the finding of probable cause by a judge trial referee and shall be
 concluded not later than ninety days after its initiation, except that such
 thirty or ninety-day limitation period shall not apply if the judge trial
 referee determines that good cause exists for extending such limitation
 period. A judge trial referee, who has not taken part in the probable
 cause determination on the matter shall be assigned by the Chief Court
 Administrator and shall be compensated in accordance with section 52-
 434 out of funds available to the Office of State Ethics. Such judge trial
 referee shall preside over such hearing and rule on all issues concerning
 the application of the rules of evidence, which shall be the same as in
 judicial proceedings. The judge trial referee shall have no vote in any
 decision of the board. All hearings of the board held pursuant to this
 subsection shall be open. At such hearing the board shall have the same
 powers as the Office of State Ethics under subsection (a) of this section
 and the respondent shall have the right to be represented by legal
 counsel, to compel attendance of witnesses and the production of books,
 documents, records and papers and to examine and cross-examine
 witnesses. Not later than ten days prior to the commencement of any
 hearing conducted pursuant to this subsection, the Office of State Ethics
 shall provide the respondent with a list of its intended witnesses. The
 judge trial referee shall, while engaged in the discharge of the duties as
 provided in this subsection, have the same authority as is provided in
 section 51-35 over witnesses who refuse to obey a subpoena or to testify
 with respect to any matter upon which such witness may be lawfully
 interrogated, and may commit any such witness for contempt for a
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 period no longer than thirty days. The Office of State Ethics shall make
 a record of all proceedings pursuant to this subsection. During the
 course of any such hearing, no ex-parte communication shall occur
 between the board, or any of its members, and: (1) The judge trial
 referee, or (2) any staff member of the Enforcement Division of the Office
 of State Ethics, concerning the complaint or the respondent. The board
 shall find no person in violation of any provision of this part, section 1-
 101bb or section 1-101nn except upon the concurring vote of two-thirds
 of its members present and voting. No member of the board shall vote
 on the question of whether a violation of any provision of this part has
 occurred unless such member was physically present for the duration
 of any hearing held pursuant to this subsection. Not later than [fifteen]
 forty-five days after the public hearing conducted in accordance with
 this subsection, the board shall publish its finding and a memorandum
 of the reasons therefor. Such finding and memorandum shall be deemed
 to be the final decision of the board on the matter for the purposes of
 chapter 54. The respondent, if aggrieved by the finding and
 memorandum, may appeal therefrom to the Superior Court in
 accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.
   Sec. 6. Subsection (i) of section 1-84 of the general statutes is repealed
 and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
     (i) (1) No public official or state employee or member of the official
 or employee's immediate family or a business with which [he] such
 person is associated shall enter into any contract with the state or a
 quasi-public agency, valued at one hundred dollars or more, other than
 a contract (A) of employment as a state employee, (B) with the Technical
 Education and Career System for students enrolled in a school in the
 system to perform services in conjunction with vocational, technical,
 technological or postsecondary 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
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 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] such person is associated enter into any contract with [that] such
 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 Education and Career System
 shall establish an open and transparent process to review any contract
 entered into under subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this
 subsection.
    Sec. 7. Subdivision (2) of section 1-79 of the 2020 supplement to the
 general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
 thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
    (2) "Business with which he is associated" or "business with which
 such 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 mem