Sec. 1-79. Definitions. The following terms, when used in this part, shall have the
following meanings unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Blind trust" means a trust established by a public official or state employee or
member of his immediate family for the purpose of divestiture of all control and knowledge of assets.
(b) "Business with which he 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
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 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 immediate
family is an unpaid director or officer of the not for profit entity. "Officer" refers only
to the president, executive or senior vice president or treasurer of such business.
(c) "Candidate for public office" means any individual who has filed a declaration
of candidacy or a petition to appear on the ballot for election as a public official, or
who has raised or expended money in furtherance of such candidacy, or who has been
nominated for appointment to serve as a public official, but shall not include a candidate
for the office of senator or representative in Congress.
(d) "Board" means the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board established in section 1-80.
(e) "Gift" means anything of value, which is directly and personally received, unless
consideration of equal or greater value is given in return. "Gift" shall not include:
(1) 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;
(2) 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;
(3) A commercially reasonable loan made on terms not more favorable than loans
made in the ordinary course of business;
(4) A gift received from (A) an individual's spouse, fiance or fiancee, (B) the parent,
brother or sister of such spouse or such individual, or (C) the child of such individual
or the spouse of such child;
(5) Goods or services (A) which 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,
and (B) which facilitate state or quasi-public agency action or functions. As used in this
subdivision, "state property" means (i) property owned by the state or a quasi-public
agency, or (ii) property leased to a state agency or quasi-public agency;
(6) A certificate, plaque or other ceremonial award costing less than one hundred
dollars;
(7) A rebate, discount or promotional item available to the general public;
(8) Printed or recorded informational material germane to state action or functions;
(9) 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;
(10) 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, (A) a reception hosted
by a lobbyist who is an individual shall be deemed to have also been hosted by the
business organization which he owns or is employed by, and (B) 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;
(11) 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, (A)
a reception hosted by a lobbyist who is an individual shall be deemed to have also been
hosted by the business organization which he owns or is employed by, and (B) 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 subdivision, "region of the state" means the established geographic service area of the organization hosting the reception;
(12) 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 shall not exceed one
thousand dollars in value;
(13) 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;
(14) Admission to a charitable or civic event, including food and beverage provided
at such event, but excluding lodging or travel expenses, at which a public official or
state employee participates in his official capacity, provided such admission is provided
by the primary sponsoring entity;
(15) Anything of value provided by an employer of (A) a public official, (B) a
state employee, or (C) 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;
(16) 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 shall not exceed fifty dollars;
(17) Training that is provided by a vendor for a product purchased by a state or
quasi-public agency which is offered to all customers of such vendor; or
(18) 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.
(f) "Immediate family" means any spouse, children or dependent relatives who
reside in the individual's household.
(g) "Individual" means a natural person.
(h) "Member of an advisory board" means any individual (1) appointed by a public
official as an advisor or consultant or member of a committee, commission or council
established to advise, recommend or consult with a public official or branch of government or committee thereof, (2) who receives no public funds other than per diem payments or reimbursement for his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties, and (3) who has no authority to expend any public funds
or to exercise the power of the state.
(i) "Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship, trust, corporation, limited
liability company, union, association, firm, partnership, committee, club or other organization or group of persons.
(j) "Political contribution" has the same meaning as in section 9-601a except that
for purposes of this part, the provisions of subsection (b) of that section shall not apply.
(k) "Public official" means any state-wide elected officer, any member or member-elect of the General Assembly, any person appointed to any office of the legislative,
judicial or executive branch of state government by the Governor or an appointee of the
Governor, with or without the advice and consent of the General Assembly, any public
member or representative of the teachers' unions or state employees' unions appointed
to the Investment Advisory Council pursuant to subsection (a) of section 3-13b, any
person appointed or elected by the General Assembly or by any member of either house
thereof, any member or director of a quasi-public agency and the spouse of the Governor,
but shall not include a member of an advisory board, a judge of any court either elected
or appointed or a senator or representative in Congress.
(l) "Quasi-public agency" means the Connecticut Development Authority, Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority, Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority, Connecticut
Housing Finance Authority, Connecticut Housing Authority, Connecticut Resources
Recovery Authority, Lower Fairfield County Convention Center Authority, Capital City
Economic Development Authority, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, Connecticut Airport Authority, Health Information Technology Exchange of Connecticut and Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange.
(m) "State employee" means any employee in the executive, legislative or judicial
branch of state government, whether in the classified or unclassified service and whether
full or part-time, and any employee of a quasi-public agency, but shall not include a
judge of any court, either elected or appointed.
(n) "Trust" means a trust in which any public official or state employee or member
of his immediate family has a present or future interest which exceeds ten per cent of
the value of the trust or exceeds fifty thousand dollars, whichever is less, but shall not
include blind trusts.
(o) "Business organization" means a sole proprietorship, corporation, limited liability company, association, firm or partnership, other than a client lobbyist, which is
owned by, or employs, one or more individual lobbyists.
(p) "Client lobbyist" means a person on behalf of whom lobbying takes place and
who makes expenditures for lobbying and in furtherance of lobbying.
(q) "Necessary expenses" means a public official's or state employee's expenses
for an article, appearance or speech or for participation at an event, in his official capacity, which shall be limited to necessary travel expenses, lodging for the nights before,
of and after the appearance, speech or event, meals and any related conference or seminar
registration fees.
(r) "Lobbyist" and "registrant" shall be construed as defined in section 1-91.
(s) "Legal defense fund" means a fund established for the payment of legal expenses
of a public official or state employee incurred as a result of defending himself or herself
in an administrative, civil, criminal or constitutional proceeding concerning matters
related to the official's or employee's service or employment with the state or a quasi-public agency.
(t) "State agency" means any office, department, board, council, commission, institution, constituent unit of the state system of higher education, vocational-technical
school or other agency in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of state government.
(P.A. 77-600, S. 1, 15; 77-605, S. 14, 21; P.A. 79-493, S. 1, 9; P.A. 81-395, S. 6, 9; P.A. 82-423, S. 1, 8; P.A. 83-249,
S. 1, 14; P.A. 84-335, S. 1, 4; P.A. 86-99, S. 29, 34; P.A. 88-139, S. 1; 88-225, S. 1, 14; P.A. 89-245, S. 1; 89-360, S. 8,
45; 89-369, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-8, S. 54, 63; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1, S. 1, 20, 22; P.A. 92-149, S. 7, 12; P.A.
93-413, S. 13, 16; P.A. 95-79, S. 3, 4, 189; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5, S. 17, 19; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-6, S. 1, 14;
P.A. 98-179, S. 13, 30; P.A. 99-56; P.A. 00-43, S. 16, 19; 00-99, S. 13, 154; P.A. 01-143, S. 4, 8; P.A. 04-143, S. 23; 04-198, S. 2, 6; P.A. 05-183, S. 1; 05-287, S. 38; P.A. 06-76, S. 3; P.A. 07-1, S. 5; June 11 Sp. Sess. P.A. 08-3, S. 9, 13; P.A.
10-101, S. 1; 10-117, S. 87; P.A. 11-53, S. 15; 11-84, S. 16.)
History: P.A. 77-605 redefined "political contribution"; P.A. 79-493 redefined "candidate for public office", "gift",
"immediate family", "member of an advisory board" and "public official" and included treasurers as officers of businesses
in Subdiv. (a); P.A. 81-395 substituted reference to Sec. 9-335(18) for reference to Sec. 9-348q(a) in Subdiv. (i); P.A. 82-423 amended Subdiv. (d) to change food and beverage exception from under $25 to under $50; P.A. 83-249 amended
Subdiv. (i) to broaden the definition of "political contribution"; P.A. 84-335 amended Subdiv. (j) to include sheriffs and
deputy sheriffs in definition of "public official"; P.A. 86-99 amended definition of "political contribution" to reflect
technical changes made in chapter 150; P.A. 88-139 added definitions of "blind trust" and "trust", redefined "business
with which he is associated" to include references to sole proprietorships, firms, corporations, trusts and other profit or
nonprofit entities, and redefined "person" to include sole proprietorships and trusts, relettering Subdivs. as necessary; P.A.
88-225 included "any member or director of a quasi-public agency" in definition of "public official", included "any
employee of a quasi-public agency" in definition of "state employee" and inserted new Subdiv. defining "quasi-public
agency", relettering former Subdivs. as necessary; P.A. 89-245 amended the definition of "quasi-public agency" in Subdiv.
(l) to rename Connecticut Product Development Corporation as Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated; P.A. 89-360 redefined "quasi-public agency" to include the New Haven Family Alliance; P.A. 89-369 limited exception in definition of
"gift" for food or beverage costing less than $50 per person and consumed on a single occasion to an occasion "at which
the person paying, directly or indirectly, for the food or beverage, or his representative, is in attendance"; June Sp. Sess.
P.A. 91-8 deleted reference to New Haven Family Alliance in definition of "quasi-public agency"; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A.
91-1 added exception to definition of "business with which he is associated" in Subdiv. (b), substantially amended definition
of "gift" and exceptions to "gift" in Subdiv. (e), redefined "quasi-public agency" in Subdiv. (l) by adding Lower Fairfield
County Convention Center Authority and Connecticut Convention Center Authority, and added Subdivs. (o) to (r), inclusive, defining "business organization", "client lobbyist", "necessary expenses" and "lobbyist" and "registrant"; P.A. 92-149 redefined "client lobbyist"; P.A. 93-413 included Connecticut Coastline Port Authority in definition of "quasi-public
agency" in Subdiv. (l), effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-79 redefined "person" and "business organization" to include a
limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5 amended Subsec. (e)(1) by changing Sec.
9-333b(b) Subdiv. reference from (11) to (10), effective July 1, 1997, and applicable to elections and primaries held on or
after January 1, 1998; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-6 amended Subsec. (e) by expanding Subdiv. (5), by changing limit to
$50 in Subdiv. (9), inserting new Subdiv. (11) re food or beverage consumed at a publicly noticed reception, adding new
Subdiv. (14) re admission to charitable or civic event, adding new Subdiv. (15) re anything of value provided by employer
and adding new Subdiv. (16) re anything of value of not more than $10, effective January 1, 1998 (Revisor's note: In Subdiv.
(11) of Subsec. (e) a hyphen between "publicly" and "noticed" was deleted editorially by the Revisors for consistency with
customary statutory usage); P.A. 98-179 amended Subsec. (l), defining "quasi-public agency", by deleting the Connecticut
Convention Center Authority and adding the Capital City Economic Development Authority, effective June 1, 1998; P.A.
99-56 amended Subsec. (k) by adding an appointee of the Governor to the definition of "public official"; P.A. 00-43
amended Subsec. (k) to include members of the Investment Advisory Council as "public officials", effective May 3, 2000;
P.A. 00-99 deleted reference to sheriff and deputy sheriff in Subsec. (k), effective December 1, 2000; P.A. 01-143 amended
Subsec. (l) by changing Connecticut Coastline Port Authority to Connecticut Port Authority, effective July 6, 2001; P.A.
04-143 redefined "quasi-public agency" in Subsec. (l) to eliminate Connecticut Port Authority from definition, effective
July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-198 applied provisions to Sec. 1-86d, made technical changes in Subsecs. (e)(10) and (h) and defined
"legal defense fund" in Subsec. (s), effective June 3, 2004, and redefined "quasi-public agency" in Subsec. (l) to include
Connecticut Lottery Corporation; P.A. 05-183 replaced definition of "commission" with definition of "board", effective
July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-287 amended Subsec. (e)(2) to provide that excepted services are those services provided to aid or
promote the success or defeat of any political party, any candidate or the position of convention delegate or town committee
member or any referendum question, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-76 amended Subsec. (l) to delete reference to Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Service; P.A. 07-1 amended Subsec. (e)(5) to include reference to a state or quasi-public agency, added Subsec. (e)(17) re training provided by a vendor and added Subsec. (t) defining "state agency",
effective February 8, 2007; June 11 Sp. Sess. P.A. 08-3 amended Subsec. (e)(12) to add requirement that gift provided by
an individual who is not a family member of recipient shall not exceed $1,000 in value and amended Subsec. (k) to include
spouse of the Governor; P.A. 10-101 amended Subsec. (e) by making a technical change in Subdiv. (12) and adding Subdiv.
(18) re exclusion of certain benefits provided by prospective employer to student of public institution of higher education
from definition of "gift"; P.A. 10-117 redefined "quasi-public agency" to include Health Information Technology Exchange
of Connecticut in Subsec. (l), effective June 8, 2010; P.A. 11-53 redefined "quasi-public agency" in Subsec. (l) to include
Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-84 redefined "quasi-public agency" in Subsec.
(l) to include Connecticut Airport Authority, effective July 1, 2011.
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Sec. 1-80. Office of State Ethics. Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board. Members;
appointment; qualifications; vacancies; compensation; restrictions. Hearings. (a)
There shall be established, within the Office of Governmental Accountability established under section 1-300, an Office of State Ethics. Said office shall consist of an
executive director, general counsel, ethics enforcement officer and such other staff as
hired by the executive director. Within the Office of State Ethics, there shall be the
Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board that shall consist of nine members, appointed as follows: One member shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
one member by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one member by the majority
leader of the Senate, one member by the minority leader of the Senate, one member by
the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one member by the minority leader
of the House of Representatives, and three members by the Governor. Members of the
board shall serve for four-year terms which shall commence on October 1, 2005, except
that members first appointed shall have the following terms: The Governor shall appoint
two members for a term of three years and one member for a term of four years; the
majority leader of the House of Representatives, minority leader of the House of Representatives and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint one member for a term of two years; the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader
of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate shall each appoint one member for
a term of four years. No individual shall be appointed to more than one four-year term
as a member of the board, provided, members may not continue in office once their
term has expired and members first appointed may not be reappointed. No more than
five members shall be members of the same political party. The members appointed by
the majority leader of the Senate and the majority leader of the House of Representatives
shall be selected from a list of nominees proposed by a citizen group having an interest
in ethical government. The majority leader of the Senate and the majority leader of the
House of Representatives shall each determine the citizen group from which each will
accept such nominations. One member appointed by the Governor shall be selected
from a list of nominees proposed by a citizen group having an interest in ethical government. The Governor shall determine the citizen group from which the Governor will
accept such nominations.
(b) All members shall be electors of the state. No member shall be a state employee.
No member or employee of such board shall (1) hold or campaign for any public office;
(2) have held public office or have been a candidate for public office for a three-year
period prior to appointment; (3) hold office in any political party or political committee
or be a member of any organization or association organized primarily for the purpose
of influencing legislation or decisions of public agencies; or (4) be an individual who
is a registrant as defined in subsection (q) of section 1-91.
(c) Any vacancy on the board shall be filled by the appointing authority having
the power to make the original appointment. An individual selected by the appointing
authority to fill a vacancy shall be eligible for appointment to one full four-year term
thereafter. Any vacancy occurring on the board shall be filled within thirty days.
(d) The board shall elect a chairperson who shall, except as provided in subsection
(b) of section 1-82 and subsection (b) of section 1-93, preside at meetings of the board
and a vice-chairperson to preside in the absence of the chairperson. Six members of the
board shall constitute a quorum. Except as provided in subdivision (3) of subsection (a)
of section 1-81, subsections (a) and (b) of section 1-82, subsection (b) of section 1-88,
subdivision (5) of section 1-92, subsections (a) and (b) of section 1-93 and subsection
(b) of section 1-99, a majority vote of the members shall be required for action of the
board. The chairperson or any three members may call a meeting.
(e) Any matter before the board, except hearings held pursuant to the provisions of
subsection (b) of section 1-82 or subsection (b) of section 1-93, may be assigned by the
board to two of its members to conduct an investigation or hearing, as the case may be,
to ascertain the facts and report thereon to the board with a recommendation for action.
(f) Members of the board shall be compensated at the rate of two hundred dollars
per day for each day they attend a meeting or hearing and shall receive reimbursement
for their necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.
(g) The board shall not be construed to be a board or commission within the meaning
of section 4-9a.
(h) The members and employees of the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board and the
Office of State Ethics shall adhere to the following code of ethics under which the
members and employees shall: (1) Observe high standards of conduct so that the integrity
and independence of the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board and the Office of State Ethics
may be preserved; (2) respect and comply with the law and conduct themselves at all
times in a manner which promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality
of the board and the Office of State Ethics; (3) be faithful to the law and maintain
professional competence in the law; (4) be unswayed by partisan interests, public clamor
or fear of criticism; (5) maintain order and decorum in proceedings of the board and
Office of State Ethics; (6) be patient, dignified and courteous to all persons who appear
in board or Office of State Ethics proceedings and with other persons with whom the
members and employees deal in their official capacities; (7) refrain from making any
statement outside of a board or Office of State Ethics proceeding, which would have a
likelihood of prejudicing a board or Office of State Ethics proceeding; (8) refrain from
making any statement outside of a board or Office of State Ethics proceeding that a
reasonable person would expect to be disseminated by means of public communication
if the member or employee should know that such statement would have a likelihood
of materially prejudicing or embarrassing a complainant or a respondent; (9) preserve
confidences of complainants and respondents; (10) exercise independent professional
judgment on behalf of the board and Office of State Ethics; and (11) represent the board
and Office of State Ethics competently.
(i) No member or employee of the board or Office of State Ethics may make a
contribution, as defined in section 9-601a, to any person subject to the provisions of
this part.
(j) Members of the board shall recuse themselves from participating in any proceeding or matter undertaken pursuant to this chapter that involves the person who appointed
such member to the board.
(k) No member of the board may represent any business or person, other than himself or herself, before the board for a period of one year following the end of such
member's service on the board. No business or person that appears before the board
shall employ or otherwise engage the services of a former member of the board for a
period of one year following the end of such former member's service on the board.
(l) No member of the board may hold any other position in state employment for a
period of one year following the end of such member's service on the board, including,
but not limited to, service as a member on a state board or commission, service as a
judge of the Superior Court or service as a state agency commissioner.
(m) Upon request of any aggrieved party, the board shall delay the effect of any
decision rendered by the board for a period not to exceed more than seven days following
the rendering of such decision.
(P.A. 77-600, S. 2, 15; 77-605, S. 2, 21; P.A. 79-493, S. 2, 9; P.A. 83-249, S. 2, 3, 14; 83-586, S. 1, 14; P.A. 84-52, S.
5; 84-334, S. 1, 3; P.A. 86-390, S. 3, 4; 86-403, S. 93, 132; P.A. 88-139, S. 4; P.A. 92-149, S. 9, 12; P.A. 03-19, S. 1; P.A.
04-204, S. 1, 2; P.A. 05-183, S. 2; P.A. 06-187, S. 68; 06-196, S. 1-3; P.A. 11-48, S. 61.)
History: P.A. 77-605 changed method for making initial appointments and qualifications for members and placed
commission in the office of secretary of the state for administrative purposes only; P.A. 79-493 changed provisions concerning quorum, introduced provisions for fact-finding investigations and hearings and excluded commission from Sec. 4-9a;
P.A. 83-249 amended Subsec. (a) to clarify that terms commence on October first and that members may continue in office
until successors are appointed and qualify and made technical changes in Subsec. (d); P.A. 83-586 added Subsec. (h)
allowing appointment of executive director and general counsel upon concurring vote of five members and dismissal upon
concurring vote of four members; P.A. 84-52 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (e) to reflect relettering of
subsections in Secs. 1-82 and 1-93; P.A. 84-334 increased members' compensation from $25 to $50 per day; P.A. 86-390
deleted provision in Subsec. (a) placing commission within the office of the secretary of the state for administrative purposes
only; P.A. 86-403 made technical change in Subsec. (d); P.A. 88-139, S. 4 which was codified as Subsec. (i) established
a code of ethics for members and employees of the ethics commission; P.A. 92-149 amended Subsec. (d) to make technical
corrections, deleted Subsec. (h) re appointment of executive director and general counsel, but see Sec. 1-81(b), and relettered
remaining Subsec. accordingly; P.A. 03-19 made a technical change in Subsec. (d), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 04-204
amended Subsec. (a) to increase members from seven to nine, one appointed each by majority leaders of House and Senate,
specify terms of initial appointees, add method of selection for such additional members, add method of selection for one
member appointed by Governor on and after October 1, 2004, and increase limit on members from same political party
from four to five, and amended Subsec. (d) to increase quorum from five to six members and number of members necessary
to call a meeting from four to five, effective June 3, 2004; P.A. 05-183 amended Subsec. (a) to replace State Ethics
Commission with Office of State Ethics and Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board, amended Subsec. (b) to prohibit any member
from being a state employee, made technical changes in Subsec. (c), amended Subsec. (d) to make technical changes,
authorize a majority vote of members, rather than quorum, to conduct business and enable any three members, rather than
any five members, to call a meeting, amended Subsecs. (e) to (h) to make technical changes, added Subsec. (i) re prohibited
contributions by members of the board or employees of the Office of State Ethics, added Subsec. (j) re recusal in certain
matters by members of the board, added Subsec. (k) re representation before the board by any member of the board within
one year of the end of such member's service on the board, added Subsec. (l) re member prohibition on holding any other
position in state employment for a period of one year from the end of such member's service on the board and added
Subsec. (m) re request for delay of the effect of any decision rendered by the board, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-187
amended Subsec. (f) to change rate of compensation for board members from $50 to $200 per day for attending a meeting
or hearing, effective May 26, 2006; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a), (k) and (m), effective June 7,
2006; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (a) by adding language re Office of Governmental Accountability and by deleting
language re independent and successor agency, effective July 1, 2011.
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Sec. 1-81a. Recommended appropriations. Allotments. (a) Notwithstanding
any provision of the general statutes, the appropriations recommended for the division of
the Office of State Ethics within the Office of Governmental Accountability established
under section 1-300, which division shall have a separate line item within the budget
for the Office of Governmental Accountability, shall be the estimates of expenditure
requirements transmitted to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management by
the executive administrator of the Office of Governmental Accountability and the recommended adjustments and revisions of such estimates shall be the recommended adjustments and revisions, if any, transmitted by said executive administrator to the Office
of Policy and Management.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the Governor shall not
reduce allotment requisitions or allotments in force concerning the Office of State Ethics.
(P.A. 04-204, S. 9; P.A. 05-183, S. 4; P.A. 11-48, S. 74.)
History: P.A. 04-204 effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-183 changed references from the State Ethics Commission to the
Office of State Ethics, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (a) by adding language re separate line item
within budget for Office of Governmental Accountability, by replacing language re director of Office of State Ethics with
language re administrator of Office of Governmental Accountability and by making technical changes, effective July
1, 2011.
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Sec. 1-83. Statements of financial interests. Filing requirements. Ethics statements. (a)(1) All state-wide elected officers, members of the General Assembly, department heads and their deputies, members of the Gaming Policy Board, members or directors of each quasi-public agency, members of the Investment Advisory Council, state
marshals and such members of the Executive Department and such employees of quasi-public agencies as the Governor shall require, shall file, under penalty of false statement,
a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the Office of State
Ethics on or before the May first next in any year in which they hold such a position.
Any such individual who leaves his or her office or position shall file a statement of
financial interests covering that portion of the year during which such individual held
his or her office or position. The Office of State Ethics shall notify such individuals of
the requirements of this subsection not later than thirty days after their departure from
such office or position. Such individuals shall file such statement within sixty days after
receipt of the notification.
(2) Each state agency, department, board and commission shall develop and implement, in cooperation with the Office of State Ethics, an ethics statement as it relates to
the mission of the agency, department, board or commission. The executive head of
each such agency, department, board or commission shall be directly responsible for
the development and enforcement of such ethics statement and shall file a copy of such
ethics statement with the Department of Administrative Services and the Office of State
Ethics.
(b) (1) The statement of financial interests, except as provided in subdivision (2)
of this subsection, shall include the following information for the preceding calendar
year in regard to the individual required to file the statement and the individual's spouse
and dependent children residing in the individual's household: (A) The names of all
businesses with which associated; (B) all sources of income, including the name of each
employer, with a description of each source, in excess of one thousand dollars, without
specifying amounts of income; (C) the name of securities in excess of five thousand
dollars at fair market value owned by such individual, spouse or dependent children or
held in the name of a corporation, partnership or trust for the benefit of such individual,
spouse or dependent children; (D) the existence of any known blind trust and the names
of the trustees; (E) all real property and its location, whether owned by such individual,
spouse or dependent children or held in the name of a corporation, partnership or trust
for the benefit of such individual, spouse or dependent children; (F) the names and
addresses of creditors to whom the individual, the individual's spouse or dependent
children, individually, owed debts of more than ten thousand dollars; (G) any leases or
contracts with the state held or entered into by the individual or a business with which
he or she was associated; and (H) a description of any partnership, joint ownership or
similar business affiliation between (i) a business included under subparagraph (A) of
this subdivision with which the individual filing the statement, the individual's spouse
or a dependent child of the individual is associated, and (ii) a lobbyist, a person that the
individual filing the statement knows or has reason to know is doing business with or
seeking to do business with the state or is engaged in activities that are directly regulated
by the department or agency in which the individual is employed, or a business with
which such lobbyist or person is associated.
(2) The statement of financial interests filed by state marshals shall include only
amounts and sources of income earned in their capacity as state marshals.
(c) The statement of financial interests filed pursuant to this section shall be a matter
of public information, except the list of names, filed in accordance with subparagraph
(F) of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section shall be sealed and confidential
and for the use of the Office of State Ethics only after a complaint has been filed under
section 1-82 and such complaint has been determined by a vote of the board to be of
sufficient merit and gravity to justify the unsealing of such list or lists and not open to
public inspection unless the respondent requests otherwise. If the board reports its findings to the Chief State's Attorney in accordance with subsection (c) of section 1-88, the
board shall turn over to the Chief State's Attorney such relevant information contained in
the statement as may be germane to the specific violation or violations or a prosecutorial
official may subpoena such statement in a criminal action. Unless otherwise a matter
of public record, the Office of State Ethics shall not disclose to the public any such
subpoena which would be exempt from disclosure by the issuing agency.
(d) Any individual who is unable to provide information required under the provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section by reason of impossibility may
petition the board for a waiver of the requirements.
(P.A. 77-600, S. 5, 15; P.A. 79-549; P.A. 80-482, S. 342, 343, 345, 348; P.A. 83-249, S. 6, 14; 83-270, S. 3; 83-586,
S. 3, 14; P.A. 84-21, S. 1, 5; 84-335, S. 2, 4; 84-546, S. 141, 173; P.A. 87-524, S. 5, 7; P.A. 88-139, S. 2; 88-225, S. 2, 14;
P.A. 89-97, S. 2, 7; 89-145; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1, S. 8; P.A. 94-126, S. 1; 94-132, S. 3; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-6, S. 12, 14; P.A. 00-43, S. 17, 19; 00-66, S. 1; 00-99, S. 14, 154; P.A. 01-195, S. 1, 2, 181; P.A. 04-245, S. 1; P.A. 05-183, S. 8; P.A. 07-201, S. 2; P.A. 11-51, S. 183.)
History: P.A. 79-549 included members of gaming policy board, executive director of division of special revenue within
the department of business regulation under filing requirements; P.A. 80-482 changed "business regulation" to "revenue
services", expanded provisions regarding the executive director and limited revenue services' control to administrative
purposes only; P.A. 83-249 changed "commissioners and deputy commissioners" to "department heads and their deputies"
and made technical amendments; P.A. 83-270 amended Subsec. (a) to include members of the board of directors of the
Connecticut resources recovery authority under filing requirements; P.A. 83-586 amended Subsec. (a) to require post-termination filing of financial statement, amended Subsec. (b) to allow for nondisclosure of privileged information, to
clarify that reporting threshold figure of $5,000 refers to net income and to require disclosure of clients providing more
than $5,000 of net income to any business with which the individual was associated, names of creditors and state leases
and contracts, amended Subsec. (c) to allow commission access to list of names if commission determines that a complaint
is of sufficient merit and gravity to justify its unsealing and added Subsec. (d) allowing waiver in cases in which it is
impossible to comply with information requirements; P.A. 84-21 made technical correction in Subsec. (c) to refer to list
of names of creditors as sealed and confidential; P.A. 84-335 added requirement that sheriffs and deputy sheriffs file limited
financial statements; P.A. 84-546 made technical changes in Subsec. (b); P.A. 87-524 amended Subsec. (b) to specify that
Subdiv. (2) shall not permit elected official to receive gift, honorarium or compensation prohibited under Sec. 9-333i(h);
P.A. 88-139 amended Subsec. (a) by changing the filing deadline for statements of financial interests from April fifteenth
to May first, amended Subsec. (b)(1)(C) by deleting the exception for blind trusts; added Subsec. (b)(1)(D) re blind trusts;
added the language in Subsec. (b)(1)(E) re real property held for the benefit of an individual, spouse or dependent children
and relettered Subparas. (E) and (F) accordingly; P.A. 88-225 amended Subsec. (a) to require that members or directors
of each quasi-public agency, instead of only members of board of directors of Connecticut resources recovery authority,
and such employees of quasi-public agencies as governor requires, file statement of financial interests; P.A. 89-97 added
definition of "fee" and "honorarium" in Subsec. (b)(2) and required filing of such a fee or honorarium in an amount of
$100 or more received in capacity as public official or state employee instead of fee or honorarium received for appearance
or delivery of address to any meeting of an organization; P.A. 89-145 increased threshold in Subsec. (b)(1)(B) for reporting
names and addresses of clients, patients and customers providing income to individual, from $5,000 to $10,000; June 12
Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1 deleted former Subsec. (b)(2) re disclosure of fees and honoraria and renumbered Subdiv. (3) as Subdiv.
(2); P.A. 94-126 added Subsec. (a)(2) re ethics statements and clarified that Subsecs. (b) and (c) apply to statements of
financial interests; P.A. 94-132 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re disclosure of subpoenas; June 18 Sp. Sess.
P.A. 97-6 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to delete requirement that statement of financial interests include names and addresses
of clients, patients and customers who provide more than $10,000 of net income, effective January 1, 1998; P.A. 00-43
amended Subsec. (a) to extend provisions of section to members of the Investment Advisory Council and to make technical
changes for purposes of gender neutrality, effective May 3, 2000; P.A. 00-66 made technical changes in Subsec. (b); P.A.
00-99 changed reference to sheriffs and deputy sheriffs to state marshals in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective December 1,
2000; P.A. 01-195 substituted "marshals" for "marshal" in Subsec. (a)(1) and made a technical change in Subsec. (b)(1)(G)
for purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 11, 2001; P.A. 04-245 added Subsec. (b)(1)(H) re disclosure of business
affiliations with lobbyists, persons doing business with or seeking to do business with the state or persons engaged in
regulated activities or associated businesses; P.A. 05-183 replaced "commission" and "Ethics Commission" with "Office
of State Ethics" or "board" throughout the section and made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(1), effective July 1, 2005;
P.A. 07-201 amended Subsec. (b)(1)(B) to require the disclosure of the name of each employer and a description of each
source of income, effective July 5, 2007; P.A. 11-51 removed reference to executive director of Division of Special Revenue
in Subsec. (a)(1), effective July 1, 2011.
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Sec. 1-84. (Formerly Sec. 1-66). Prohibited activities. (a) No public official or
state employee shall, while serving as such, have any financial interest in, or engage in,
any business, employment, transaction or professional activity, which is in substantial
conflict with the proper discharge of his duties or employment in the public interest and
of his responsibilities as prescribed in the laws of this state, as defined in section 1-85.
(b) No public official or state employee shall accept other employment which will
either impair his independence of judgment as to his official duties or employment or
require him, or induce him, to disclose confidential information acquired by him in the
course of and by reason of his official duties.
(c) No public official or state employee shall wilfully and knowingly disclose, for
financial gain, to any other person, confidential information acquired by him in the
course of and by reason of his official duties or employment and no public official or
state employee shall use his public office or position or any confidential information
received through his holding such public office or position to obtain financial gain for
himself, his spouse, child, child's spouse, parent, brother or sister or a business with
which he is associated.
(d) No public official or state employee or employee of such public official or state
employee shall agree to accept, or be a member or employee of a partnership, association,
professional corporation or sole proprietorship which partnership, association, professional corporation or sole proprietorship agrees to accept any employment, fee or other
thing of value, or portion thereof, for appearing, agreeing to appear, or taking any other
action on behalf of another person before the Department of Banking, the Claims Commissioner, the Office of Health Care Access division within the Department of Public
Health, the Insurance Department, the Department of Consumer Protection, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the State Insurance and Risk Management Board, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority,
the Connecticut Siting Council, the Gaming Policy Board within the Department of
Consumer Protection or the Connecticut Real Estate Commission; provided this shall
not prohibit any such person from making inquiry for information on behalf of another
before any of said commissions or commissioners if no fee or reward is given or promised
in consequence thereof. For the purpose of this subsection, partnerships, associations,
professional corporations or sole proprietorships refer only to such partnerships, associations, professional corporations or sole proprietorships which have been formed to carry
on the business or profession directly relating to the employment, appearing, agreeing
to appear or taking of action provided for in this subsection. Nothing in this subsection
shall prohibit any employment, appearing, agreeing to appear or taking action before any
municipal board, commission or council. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
applying (1) to the actions of any teaching or research professional employee of a public
institution of higher education if such actions are not in violation of any other provision
of this chapter, (2) to the actions of any other professional employee of a public institution
of higher education if such actions are not compensated and are not in violation of any
other provision of this chapter, (3) to any member of a board or commission who receives
no compensation other than per diem payments or reimbursement for actual or necessary
expenses, or both, incurred in the performance of the member's duties, or (4) to any
member or director of a quasi-public agency. Notwithstanding the provisions of this
subsection to the contrary, a legislator, an officer of the General Assembly or part-time
legislative employee may be or become a member or employee of a firm, partnership,
association or professional corporation which represents clients for compensation before
agencies listed in this subsection, provided the legislator, officer of the General Assembly or part-time legislative employee shall take no part in any matter involving the
agency listed in this subsection and shall not receive compensation from any such matter.
Receipt of a previously established salary, not based on the current or anticipated business of the firm, partnership, association or professional corporation involving the agencies listed in this subsection, shall be permitted.
(e) No legislative commissioner or his partners, employees or associates shall represent any person subject to the provisions of part II concerning the promotion of or
opposition to legislation before the General Assembly, or accept any employment which
includes an agreement or understanding to influence, or which is inconsistent with, the
performance of his official duties.
(f) No person shall offer or give to a public official or state employee or candidate
for public office or his spouse, his parent, brother, sister or child or spouse of such child
or a business with which he 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.
(g) No public official or state employee or candidate for public office shall solicit or
accept 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 or state employee or candidate for public
office would be or had been influenced thereby.
(h) Nothing in subsection (f) or (g) of this section shall be construed (1) to apply
to any promise made in violation of subdivision (6) of section 9-622, or (2) to permit
any activity otherwise prohibited in section 53a-147 or 53a-148.
(i) No public official or state employee or member of the official or employee's
immediate family or a business with which he is associated shall enter into any contract
with the state, valued at one hundred dollars or more, other than a contract of employment
as a state employee, or a contract with a public institution of higher education to support
a collaboration with such institution to develop and commercialize any invention or
discovery, or 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, or the executive head's immediate family or a business with which he 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.
(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 accept any gift, as
defined in subsection (e) of section 1-79, from a person known to be a registrant or
anyone known to be acting on behalf of a registrant.
(k) No public official, spouse of the Governor or state employee shall accept a fee
or honorarium for an article, appearance or speech, or for participation at an event, in
the public official's, spouse's or state employee's official capacity, provided a public
official, Governor's spouse or state employee may receive payment or reimbursement
for necessary expenses for any such activity in his or her official capacity. If a public
official, Governor's spouse or state employee receives such a payment or reimbursement
for lodging or out-of-state travel, or both, the public official, Governor's spouse or state
employee shall, not later than thirty days thereafter, file a report of the payment or
reimbursement with the Office of State Ethics, unless the payment or reimbursement is
provided by the federal government or another state government. If a public official,
Governor's spouse or state employee does not file such report within such period, either
intentionally or due to gross negligence on the public official's, Governor's spouse's
or state employee's part, the public official, Governor's spouse or state employee shall
return the payment or reimbursement. If any failure to file such report is not intentional
or due to gross negligence on the part of the public official, Governor's spouse or state
employee, the public official, Governor's spouse or state employee shall not be subject
to any penalty under this chapter. When a public official, Governor's spouse or state
employee attends an event in this state in the public official's, Governor's spouse's or
state employee's official capacity and as a principal speaker at such event and receives
admission to or food or beverage at such event from the sponsor of the event, such
admission or food or beverage shall not be considered a gift and no report shall be
required from such public official, spouse or state employee or from the sponsor of the
event.
(l) No public official or state employee, or any person acting on behalf of a public
official or state employee, shall wilfully and knowingly interfere with, influence, direct
or solicit existing or new lobbying contracts, agreements or business relationships for
or on behalf of any person.
(m) No public official or state employee shall knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, as defined in subsection (e) 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 subdivision (12) of
subsection (e) 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.
(n) (1) As used in this subsection, (A) "investment services" means investment
legal services, investment banking services, investment advisory services, underwriting
services, financial advisory services or brokerage firm services, and (B) "principal of
an investment services firm" means (i) an individual who is a director of or has an
ownership interest in an investment services firm, except for an individual who owns
less than five per cent of the shares of an investment services firm which is a publicly
traded corporation, (ii) an individual who is employed by an investment services firm
as president, treasurer, or executive or senior vice president, (iii) an employee of such
an investment services firm who has managerial or discretionary responsibilities with
respect to any investment services, (iv) the spouse or dependent child of an individual
described in this subparagraph, or (v) a political committee established by or on behalf
of an individual described in this subparagraph.
(2) The State Treasurer shall not pay any compensation, expenses or fees or issue
any contract to any firm which provides investment services when (A) a political committee, as defined in section 9-601, established by such firm, or (B) a principal of the
investment services firm has made a contribution, as defined in section 9-601a, to, or
solicited contributions on behalf of, any exploratory committee or candidate committee,
as defined in section 9-601, established by the State Treasurer as a candidate for nomination or election to the office of State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall not pay any
compensation, expenses or fees or issue any contract to such firms or principals during
the term of office as State Treasurer, including, for an incumbent State Treasurer seeking
reelection, any remainder of the current term of office.
(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, 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.
(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 dollars or more 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 dollars or more 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.
(q) No public official or state employee shall counsel, authorize or otherwise sanction action that violates any provision of this part.
(r) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, a
member of the faculty or a member of a faculty bargaining unit of a constituent unit of
the state system of higher education may enter into a consulting agreement or engage
in a research project with a public or private entity, provided such agreement or project
does not conflict with the member's employment with the constituent unit, as determined
by policies established by the board of trustees for such constituent unit.
(2) The board of trustees for each constituent unit of the state system of higher
education shall establish policies to ensure that any such member who enters such a
consulting agreement or engages in such a research project (A) is not inappropriately
using university proprietary information in connection with such agreement or project,
(B) does not have an interest in such agreement or project that interferes with the proper
discharge of his or her employment with the constituent unit, and (C) is not inappropriately using such member's association with the constituent unit in connection with such
agreement or project. Such policies shall (i) establish procedures for the disclosure,
review and management of conflicts of interest relating to any such agreement or project,
(ii) require the approval by the chief academic officer of the constituent unit, or his or
her designee, prior to any such member entering into any such agreement or engaging
in any such project, and (iii) include procedures that impose sanctions and penalties on
any member for failing to comply with the provisions of the policies. Semiannually, the
internal audit office of each constituent unit shall audit the constituent unit's compliance
with such policies and report its findings to the committee of the constituent unit established pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection. For purposes of this subsection,
"consulting" means the provision of services for compensation to a public or private
entity by a member of the faculty or member of a faculty bargaining unit of a constituent
unit of the state system of higher education: (I) When the request to provide such services
is based on such member's expertise in a field or prominence in such field, and (II)
while such member is not acting in the capacity of a state employee, and "research"
means a systematic investigation, including, but not limited to, research development,
testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to general knowledge in the
applicable field of study.
(3) There is established a committee for each constituent unit of the state system
of higher education to monitor the constituent unit's compliance with the policies and
procedures described in subdivision (2) of this subsection governing consulting
agreements and research projects with public or private entities by a member of the
faculty or a member of a faculty bargaining unit of such constituent unit. Each committee
shall consist of nine members as follows: (A) Three members, appointed jointly by the
Governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of
the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of
the Senate, the minority leader of the House of Representatives and the minority leader
of the Senate, who shall serve as members for each such committee; (B) one member
appointed by the chairperson of the constituent unit's board of trustees from the membership of such board; (C) the chief academic officer of the constituent unit, or his or her
designee; (D) three members appointed by the chief executive officer of the constituent
unit, and (E) one member appointed by the chairperson of the Citizen's Ethics Advisory
Board from the membership of such board. Members shall serve for a term of two years.
Any vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority. Each committee shall (i)
review the semiannual reports submitted by the internal audit office for the constituent
unit, pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, (ii) make recommendations, annually, to the board of trustees of the constituent unit concerning the policies and procedures
of the constituent unit established pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, including any changes to such policies and procedures, and (iii) send a copy of such recommendations, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education and government
administration.
(4) The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall apply to any member of the faculty or member of a faculty bargaining unit of a constituent unit of the
state system of higher education who enters such a consulting agreement or engages in
such a research project without prior approval, as described in subdivision (2) of this
subsection.
(1971, P.A. 822, S. 1; P.A. 75-605, S. 20, 27; P.A. 76-302, S. 1, 3; P.A. 77-600, S. 6, 15; 77-604, S. 68, 84; 77-605, S.
13, 21; 77-614, S. 165, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 37, 136; P.A. 79-404, S. 1, 45; 79-493, S. 5, 7, 9; P.A. 80-482, S. 1, 4, 170,
191, 345, 348; 80-483, S. 2, 186; P.A. 82-423, S. 6, 8; P.A. 83-249, S. 7, 14; 83-586, S. 4, 14; P.A. 87-9, S. 2, 3; 87-234;
87-524, S. 6, 7; P.A. 88-225, S. 3, 14; P.A. 89-369, S. 3; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1, S. 2, 6, 22; P.A. 92-149, S. 1, 12;
P.A. 94-69, S. 2, 3; P.A. 95-188, S. 1; 95-195, S. 4, 83; 95-257, S. 39, 58; P.A. 96-11, S. 1, 5; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-6, S. 2-5, 14; P.A. 99-51, S. 1, 9; 99-145, S. 14, 23; P.A. 00-66, S. 2; P.A. 02-130, S. 13; P.A. 03-215, S. 5; June 30 Sp.
Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-38, S. 2; 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; 04-245, S. 5, 6; P.A. 05-287, S. 41; P.A. 06-137,
S. 32; 06-196, S. 8-10; P.A. 07-1, S. 6; 07-166, S. 11, 12; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 20; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7, S.
169; P.A. 11-51, S. 184; 11-80, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 75-605 changed "commission on claims" to "claims commissioner"; P.A. 76-302 added Subsec. (e); P.A.
77-600 broadened scope of section regarding prohibited activities and those who are affected by the prohibitions and added
Subsecs. (f) to (i), effective January 1, 1978; P.A. 77-604 changed sections referred to in Subsec. (h), effective January 1,
1978; P.A. 77-605 expanded scope of prohibitions in Subsec. (e); in Subsec. (d) P.A. 77-614 changed "liquor control
commission" to "division of liquor control within the department of business regulation"; in Subsec. (d) P.A. 78-303
changed "state banking commission" to "banking commissioner", effective January 1, 1979; in 1979 Sec. 1-66 transferred
to Sec. 1-84; P.A. 79-404 changed "commission on special revenue" to "division of special revenue" and added the gaming
policy board in Subsec. (d); P.A. 79-493 clarified prohibited conduct in Subsec. (d) and excluded members of advisory
boards and commissions receiving per diem or reimbursement for expenses from provisions and excluded executive branch
officials from provisions of Subsec. (i) except in certain cases; P.A. 80-482 deleted references to business regulation and
reflected changes placing special revenue and the gaming policy board within the department of revenue services and
creating the banking, insurance, liquor control and public utility control departments; P.A. 80-483 made technical changes;
P.A. 82-423 added Subsec. (j) which placed $50 limit on gifts accepted by public officials; P.A. 83-249 limited prohibition
to financial interest or gains; P.A. 83-586 amended Subsec. (d) to include appearance or action before commission on
hospitals and health care, insurance department, department of public utility control or Connecticut siting council, effective
January 9, 1985; (Revisor's note: Pursuant to P.A. 87-9, "banking department" was changed editorially by the Revisors
to "department of banking"); P.A. 87-234 amended Subsec. (d) to exempt from provisions of Subsec. (d) actions of teaching
or research professional employees of public institutions of higher education, regardless of whether such actions are
compensated; P.A. 87-524 added provision in Subsec. (h) that Subsecs. (f) and (g) shall not apply to promise violating
Sec. 9-333x(6); P.A. 88-225 added Subsec. (d)(4), exempting members and directors of quasi-public agencies from application of Subsec. (d) and amended Subsec. (i) to exempt certain members and directors of quasi-public agencies from
application of Subsec. (i); P.A. 89-369 applied section to sole proprietorships; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1 amended Subsec.
(j) by inserting "knowingly" and making a technical change and added Subsec. (k) re fees and honoraria and Subsec. (l)
re influence with lobbying contracts, agreements or business relationships; P.A. 92-149 amended Subsec. (d) to allow
firms employing legislators or legislative employees to represent clients before specific agencies provided such employee
derives no compensation from such representation, amended Subsec. (k) to allow public officials or state employees to
receive payment or reimbursements for necessary expenses for lodging, out-of-state travel or both provided a report is
filed with the commission and added new Subsec. (m) re acceptance of gifts in excess of $50; P.A. 94-69 amended Subsec.
(m) by deleting "serving in the executive branch or a quasi-public agency" after "state employee", effective January 1, 1994;
P.A. 95-188 added Subsec. (n) re contributions to candidates for Treasurer by "investment services" firms or individuals
associated with such firms; P.A. 95-195 amended Subsec. (d) to replace reference to Department of Liquor Control with
reference to office within the Department of Consumer Protection carrying out the duties of Secs. 30-2 to 30-68m, inclusive,
effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 amended Subsec. (d) to replace Commission on Hospitals and Health Care with Office
of Health Care Access, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-11 amended Subsec. (i) to prohibit an executive head of an agency
or his immediate family or a business with which he is associated from entering into a contract with that agency, effective
January 1, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-6 amended Subsec. (j) to delete reference to gifts of $50 or more in value,
amended Subsec. (k) to provide that admission to, and food and beverage consumed at, an event are not considered a gift
if consumed at the event, if official or employee attends in official capacity or as principal speaker, amended Subsec. (m)
to delete reference to gifts of $50 or more in value and to delete Subdiv. (3) re financial interests that may be substantially
affected by performance or nonperformance of duties and added new Subsec. (o) re written reports by person who is doing
business with agency and who gives something of value to a public official or employee of that agency, effective January
1, 1998; P.A. 99-51 amended Subsec. (d) to substitute "State Insurance and Risk Management Board" for "State Insurance
Purchasing Board" and to make existing provisions gender neutral, effective May 27, 1999; P.A. 99-145 amended Subsec.
(d) to substitute "State Insurance and Risk Management Board" for "State Insurance Purchasing Board", effective June 8,
1999; P.A. 00-66 made technical changes in Subsec. (k); P.A. 02-130 amended Subsec. (n) by designating definitions as
Subdiv. (1) and remaining provisions as Subdiv. (2), designating definition of "investment services" in Subdiv. (1) as
Subpara. (A) and replacing "legal services" with "investment legal services" therein, adding Subdiv. (1)(B) defining
"principal of an investment services firm" and revising Subdiv. (2) to replace former provisions re individual who is
owner of firm or employed by firm as manager, officer, director, partner or employee having managerial or discretionary
investment responsibilities with "a principal of the investment services firm" and to make conforming and technical
changes, effective May 10, 2002; P.A. 03-215 added Subsec. (m)(3) re gifts from a prequalified contractor, effective
October 1, 2004; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Department of Consumer Protection with Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-38 amended Subsec. (i) to increase the number
of days by which a lawsuit to void a contract in violation of said Subsec. may be brought from 90 days to 180 days and to
make technical changes, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby
reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 04-245
amended Subsec. (m) to provide that, for purposes of said Subsec., exclusion to term "gift" in Sec. 1-79(e)(12) for major
life event shall not apply, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-287 made technical changes throughout the section, amended
Subsec. (m) to require any person who is prohibited from making a gift under the subsection to report any solicitation of
a gift by a state employee or public official, amended Subsec. (o) to include references to representatives and the executive
head of the recipient's department or agency and added Subsec. (p) re a public official's or state employee's acceptance
of a gift costing $100 or more from a person under supervision or a supervisor, Subsec. (q) re acceptance of gifts to the
state from persons prohibited from making gifts to public officials and state employees and Subsec. (r) re the sanctioning
of violations, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-137 amended Subsec. (k) to include references to the spouse of the Governor,
effective June 6, 2006; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsecs. (k), (m) and (o), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 07-1 deleted former Subsec. (q) re knowing acceptance of goods or services provided under Sec. 1-79(e)(5) and redesignated
existing Subsec. (r) as Subsec. (q), effective February 8, 2007; P.A. 07-166 amended Subsec. (i) to exempt contracts with
public institutions of higher education to support a collaboration with such institutions to develop and commercialize any
invention or discovery from prohibition in said Subsec. re entering into contracts and added new Subsec. (r) to exempt
from the provisions of Subsecs. (b) and (c) a member of the faculty or faculty bargaining unit of a constituent unit of the
state system of higher education who enters into a consulting agreement or engages in a research project, to have the board
of trustees of each constituent unit establish policies to govern such activities of such faculty members, and to establish a
separate committee for each constituent unit to monitor compliance with such policies, effective June 19, 2007; Sept. Sp.
Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (d) by adding "division within the Department of Public Health" re Office of Health
Care Access, effective October 6, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7 amended Subsec. (d) to replace "Department of Revenue
Services" with "Division of Special Revenue" re Gaming Policy Board, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 11-51 amended
Subsec. (d) to remove provision re office that carries out duties and responsibilities of Secs. 30-2 to 30-68m, remove
references to Division of Special Revenue and insert "Department of Consumer Protection" re the Gaming Policy Board,
effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, "Department of Environmental Protection" and "Department of Public
Utility Control" were changed editorially by the Revisors to "Department of Energy and Environmental Protection" and
"Public Utilities Regulatory Authority", respectively, in Subsec. (d), effective July 1, 2011.
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Sec. 1-90a. Exemption re student state employee of a public institution of
higher education. Policies and procedures re standards of student conduct. (a)
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1-84, 1-84a, 1-85 and 1-86, a state employee
of a public institution of higher education whose employment is derived from such
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 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.
(b) Each public institution of higher education shall submit a written copy of its
policies and procedures concerning standards of student conduct to the Citizen's Ethics
Advisory Board for approval. Such policies and procedures shall be submitted triennially, except that, in the event there is a significant revision of such standards of student
conduct, the public institution of higher education shall submit such revision to the board
not later than thirty days after adopting such revision.
(P.A. 10-101, S. 3; P.A. 11-70, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 11-70 made a technical change in Subsec. (b).
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Sec. 1-101nn. Solicitation of information not available to other bidders from
public official or state employee by contract bidder or contractor. Charging agency
for work not performed. Information concerning donation of goods and services
to state or quasi-public agencies. Prohibition re consultant to agency serving as
consultant to bidder. Nonresponsible bidder. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of
the general statutes, no person who (1) is, or is seeking to be, prequalified under section
4a-100, (2) is a party to a large state construction or procurement contract or seeking
to enter into such a contract with a state agency, board, commission or institution or a
quasi-public agency, or (3) is a party to a consultant services contract or seeking to enter
into such a contract with a state agency, board, commission or institution or a quasi-public agency, shall:
(A) With the intent to obtain a competitive advantage over other bidders, solicit
any information from a public official or state employee that the contractor knows is
not and will not be available to other bidders for a large state construction or procurement
contract that the contractor is seeking;
(B) Intentionally, wilfully or with reckless disregard for the truth, charge a state
agency, board, commission or institution or quasi-public agency for work not performed
or goods not provided, including submitting meritless change orders in bad faith with
the sole intention of increasing the contract price without authorization and, falsifying
invoices or bills or charging unreasonable and unsubstantiated rates for services or unreasonable and unsubstantiated prices for goods to a state agency, board, commission
or institution or quasi-public agency;
(C) Intentionally or wilfully violate or attempt to circumvent state competitive bidding and ethics laws; or
(D) With the intent to unduly influence the award of a state contract, provide or
direct another person to provide information concerning the donation of goods and
services to a state agency or quasi-public agency, to the procurement staff of any state
agency or quasi-public agency or a member of a bid selection committee.
(b) No person with whom a state agency, board, commission or institution or quasi-public agency has contracted to provide consulting services to plan specifications for any
contract and no business with which the person is associated may serve as a consultant to
any person seeking to obtain such contract, serve as a contractor for such contract or
serve as a subcontractor or consultant to the person awarded such contract.
(c) Any person who is found in violation of any provision of this section by the
Office of State Ethics pursuant to section 1-82 may be deemed a nonresponsible bidder
by a state agency, board, commission or institution or quasi-public agency.
(P.A. 05-287, S. 33; P.A. 07-1, S. 9; P.A. 11-149, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 05-287 effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 07-1 added Subsec. (a)(D) re donation of goods and services, effective
February 8, 2007; P.A. 11-149 amended Subsec. (c) to make provisions applicable to a person found in violation of section
by Office of State Ethics pursuant to Sec. 1-82.
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Sec. 1-101qq. State ethics law summary provided to persons seeking large
state construction or procurement contract. Affirmation of receipt. Summary and
affirmation re subcontractors and consultants. Failure to submit affirmation. Incorporation of summary in contract terms. (a) A state agency or institution or quasi-public agency that is seeking a contractor for a large state construction or procurement
contract shall provide the summary of state ethics laws developed by the Office of State
Ethics pursuant to section 1-81b to any person seeking a large state construction or
procurement contract. Such person shall affirm to the agency or institution, in writing
or electronically, (1) receipt of such summary, and (2) that key employees of such person
have read and understand the summary and agree to comply with the provisions of state
ethics law. After the initial submission of such affirmation, such person shall not be
required to resubmit such affirmation unless there is a change in the information contained in the affirmation. If there is any change in the information contained in the most
recently filed affirmation, such person shall submit an updated affirmation either (A)
not later than thirty days after the effective date of any such change, or (B) upon the
submittal of any new bid or proposal, whichever is earlier. No state agency or institution
or quasi-public agency shall accept a bid or proposal for a large state construction or
procurement contract without such affirmation.
(b) Prior to entering into a contract with any subcontractors or consultants, each
large state construction or procurement contractor shall (1) provide the summary of
state ethics laws described in subsection (a) of this section to all subcontractors and
consultants, and (2) obtain an affirmation from each subcontractor and consultant that
such subcontractor and consultant has received such summary and key employees of
such subcontractor and consultant have read and understand the summary and agree to
comply with its provisions. The contractor shall provide such affirmations to the state
agency, institution or quasi-public agency not later than fifteen days after the request
of such agency, institution or quasi-public agency for such affirmation. Failure to submit
such affirmations in a timely manner shall be cause for termination of the large state
construction or procurement contract.
(c) Each contract with a contractor, subcontractor or consultant described in subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall incorporate such summary by reference as a part of
the contract terms.
(P.A. 05-287, S. 37; P.A. 06-196, S. 18; P.A. 11-229, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 05-287 effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective June 7,
2006; P.A. 11-229 amended Subsec. (a) to delete "promptly" re affirmation, add "or electronically", add provisions re
resubmission of affirmation not required until 30 days after a change or upon submittal of new bid or proposal and add
reference to "proposal" and amended Subsec. (b) to add "Prior to entering into a contract with any subcontractors or
consultants", add Subdiv. (1) and (2) designators, specify affirmation be provided to institution or quasi-public agency
and require affirmation to be provided not later than 15 days after requested.
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