Advisory Opinion No. 1996-13
Application Of
Post-State Employment
Restrictions To Laid-Off CHFA Employee
Even though the termination of the petitioner’s state
service was involuntary, Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b) will prohibit him, for one
year after leaving state service, from representing anyone other than the State
for compensation before CHFA, concerning any matter in which the State has a
substantial interest. State Ethics Commission
Advisory Opinion No. 93-5, 54
Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(a) will prohibit the petitioner from ever representing anyone other than the State “concerning any particular matter (1) in which he participated personally and substantially while in state service and (2) in which the state has a substantial interest.” Section 1-84a prohibits disclosure or use of confidential information, acquired in state service, for the financial gain of oneself or another person. This, too, is a life-long prohibition.
Finally, Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(d) prohibits a former state
employee “who participated substantially in the negotiation or award of a state
contract obliging the state to pay an amount of fifty thousand dollars or more,
or who supervised the negotiation or award of such a contract” from accepting
employment with a party to the contract (other than the State) for a period of
one year after resignation from his state position if his resignation occurs
less than one year after the contract is signed. The term “resignation,” as used in §1-84b(d),
refers to all forms of separation from State service, including lay-off. Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies Sec.1-81-38(e). This restriction applies with equal force to
grants and other state awards implemented by contract. State Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 90-27,
52
The State Ethics Commission has not previously considered whether, for purposes of §1-84b(d), the state’s payment of monies in the form of a loan should be treated differently from the state’s payments of monies for the purchase of goods or services, for example. In both cases monies are disbursed, making them unavailable for other state purposes, and in both cases the state expects full value in return for its expenditures. The Commission therefore concludes that a state loan is a state contractual “obligation to pay” within the meaning of §1-84b(d). “To hold otherwise would vitiate §1-84b(d) by allowing those individuals most directly responsible for the transfer of state funds to a non-state entity to escape the proscription of the statute.” State Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 90-27, supra.
The petitioner’s inquiry raises the further issue of whether a CHFA loan is a “state contract” within the meaning of Sec. 1-84b(d), given the fact that Conn. Gen. Stat. §8-244 specifically states that CHFA is not a department, institution or agency of the state. The Commission finds that for purposes of the Code of Ethics for Public Officials, a CHFA loan is a “state” contract to the same extent that the petitioner is a “state” employee. Any other construction would render meaningless the post-state employment provisions of the Code of Ethics as applied to employees of quasi-public agencies.
By order of the Commission,
David T. Nessef
Chairperson