Advisory Opinion No. 1996-6
Post-State Employment
Restrictions
On The Fostering Of Goodwill
The state has a substantial interest in a matter whenever the finances, health, safety, or welfare of the State or one or more of its citizens will be substantively affected by the outcome. Cf. Regulations of State Agencies, Sec. 1-81-35 (“substantial interest” defined for purposes of §1-84b(a)). The Legislature has determined that the State has a substantial interest in lobbying activities when it required the registration of lobbyists and disclosure of lobbying expenditures. See Code of Ethics for Lobbyists, Chapter 10, Part II, Connecticut General Statutes.
The Commission has previously ruled that activities and
expenditures which foster good will between lobbyists and public officials,
even if such activities are social occasions, are in furtherance of lobbying,
unless the activity is clearly personal and unrelated to any lobbying purpose. See Advisory Opinion No. 93-14, 55
Alternatively, the individual will not be in violation of the post-state employment rules, if he attends events such as social occasions or business receptions at which his former colleagues are also present and engages in conversations which are solely personal and unrelated to any lobbying matters. This exception is allowed only when the individual has made a personal unreimbursed expenditure to be present. Whenever the client lobbyist, however, either hosts the event or pays for the individual to be present as its representative, it will be deemed to be an expenditure to foster good will in furtherance of lobbying and the individual should not be in attendance.
Finally, it should be pointed out that the rules requiring a registered lobbyist to disclose expenditures of ten dollars or more for the benefit of a public official must still be followed. See Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-96. This is the case whether or not the expenditure is related or unrelated to lobbying. The fact that the individual is in compliance with the post-state employment rules when meeting with a former colleague in a purely social setting does not relieve him of the responsibility to make such disclosures on his lobbyist financial reports.
By order of the Commission,
David T. Nassef
Chairperson