Advisory Opinion No. 1995-2
Application Of Conn. Gen.
Stat. §1-84b(c)
To Out-Of-State Employment
The petitioner has asked whether the prohibition against accepting employment with a business subject to regulation by one’s agency would apply if the position offered by a regulated industry were located in an out-of-state office and involved no contact with the individual’s former state agency.
The petitioner posits that the legislative goals of §1-84b(c) are met if post-state employment contact with one’s former agency is eliminated through a combination of sheer distance and forbearance. However, contact between a former executive branch employee or official and his or her former agency, for one year, is strictly prohibited by a separate provision of the Code, Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b), no matter the location of the individual’s post-state employment.
The goal of Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(c) is to decrease the
likelihood that an official will tailor his or her conduct in office to enhance
opportunities for subsequent private employment in the same field. A post-state employment “cooling off” period
both reduces the incentive to curry favor with a private employer and increases
public confidence in government. See
State Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 92-22, 54
By order of the Commission,
Rev. William Sangiovanni
Acting Chairperson