(a) The board and general counsel and staff of the Office of State Ethics shall:
(1) Compile and maintain an index of all reports, advisory opinions, informal staff letters, memoranda issued in accordance with subsection (b) of section 1-82 and statements filed by and with the Office of State Ethics to facilitate public access to such reports and advisory opinions, informal staff letters, memoranda statements as provided by this part;
(2) Preserve advisory opinions and informal staff letters, permanently; preserve memoranda issued in accordance with subsection (b) of section 1-82 and statements and reports filed by and with the board for a period of five years from the date of receipt;
(3) Upon the concurring vote of a majority of the board present and voting, issue advisory opinions with regard to the requirements of this part or part IV of this chapter, upon the request of any person subject to the provisions of this part or part IV of this chapter, and publish such advisory opinions in the Connecticut Law Journal. Advisory opinions rendered by the board, until amended or revoked, shall be binding on the board and shall be deemed to be final decisions of the board for purposes of appeal to the superior court, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-175 or 4-183. Any advisory opinion concerning the person who requested the opinion and who acted in reliance thereon, in good faith, shall be binding upon the board, and it shall be an absolute defense in any criminal action brought under the provisions of this part or part IV of this chapter, that the accused acted in reliance upon such advisory opinion;
(4) Respond to inquiries and provide advice regarding the code of ethics either verbally or through informal letters;
(5) Provide yearly training to all state employees regarding the code of ethics;
(6) Make legislative recommendations to the General Assembly and report annually, not later than February fifteenth, to the Governor summarizing the activities of the Office of State Ethics; and
(7) Meet not less than once per month with the office's executive director and ethics enforcement officer.
(b) The Office of State Ethics may enter into such contractual agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of its duties, within the limits of its appropriated funds and in accordance with established procedures.
(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 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.
(d) The executive director, described in subsection (c) of this section, shall be appointed by the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board for an open-ended term. Such appointment shall not be made until all the initial board members appointed to terms commencing on October 1, 2005, are appointed by their respective appointing authorities, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 1-80. The board shall annually evaluate the performance of the executive director, in writing, and may remove the executive director, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 67.
(e) The general counsel and ethics enforcement officer described in subsection (c) of this section, and other staff of the Office of State Ethics shall be appointed by the executive director of the Office of State Ethics. The executive director shall annually evaluate the performance of the general counsel, ethics enforcement officer and such other staff, in writing, and may remove the general counsel or ethics enforcement officer, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 67, or such other staff, in accordance with any applicable collective bargaining agreement.
(f) There shall be a legal division within the Office of State Ethics. The legal division shall provide the board with legal advice on matters before said board and shall represent the board in all matters in which the board is a party, without the assistance of the Attorney General unless the board requests such assistance. The legal division shall, under the direction of the general counsel, provide information and written and verbal opinions to persons subject to the code and to the general public. The general counsel, described in subsection (c) of this section, shall supervise such division. The investigation or instigation of a complaint may not occur solely because of information received by the legal division.
(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 enforcement division shall employ such attorneys and investigators, as necessary, within available appropriations, and may refer matters to the office of the Chief State's Attorney, as appropriate.
(h) The Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to carry out the purposes of this part. Such regulations shall not be deemed to govern the conduct of any judge trial referee in the performance of such judge trial referee's duties pursuant to this chapter.
(i) The general counsel shall, in consultation with the executive director of the Office of State Ethics, oversee yearly training of all state personnel in the code of ethics, provide training on the code of ethics to other individuals or entities subject to the code and shall make recommendations as to public education regarding ethics.
(P.A. 77-600, S. 3, 15; 77-605, S. 15, 21; P.A. 79-493, S. 3, 9; P.A. 83-249, S. 4, 14; 83-493, S. 1, 5; P.A. 84-52, S. 6; P.A. 86-403, S. 94, 132; P.A. 89-97, S. 1, 7; 89-369, S. 2; P.A. 92-149, S. 10, 12; P.A. 94-172; P.A. 95-291; P.A. 99-55; P.A. 02-89, S. 2; P.A. 04-204, S. 3; P.A. 05-183, S. 3; 05-287, S. 31; 05-288, S. 211; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3, S. 106, 108; P.A. 06-196, S. 5, 6; P.A. 13-244, S. 6; 13-264, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 77-605 specifically provided that advisory opinions be published in the Connecticut Law Journal; P.A. 79-493 limited the issuance of advisory opinions to those in which at least four members concur; P.A. 83-249 deleted the words “subject to the provisions of this part” modifying “public official or state employee” in Subsec. (a)(3); P.A. 83-493 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that advisory opinions shall be deemed to be final decisions of the commission for purposes of Sec. 1-87; P.A. 84-52 made technical changes to reflect relettering of subsections in Sec. 1-82; P.A. 86-403 made technical changes in Subsec. (a); P.A. 89-97 added Subdiv. (5) requiring commission to adopt regulations; P.A. 89-369 amended Subsec. (a)(3) to authorize any “person subject to the provisions of this part”, instead of any “public official or state employee”, to request an advisory opinion; P.A. 92-149 amended Subsec. (b) to authorize employment of an executive director and general counsel; P.A. 94-172 inserted new Subdivs. (5) and (6) re model codes of ethics and renumbered former Subdiv. (5) as (7); P.A. 95-291 amended Subsec. (a)(5) and (6) by repealing requirement that the commission enforce model codes for municipalities and districts (Revisor's note: In Subdiv. (6) the word “and” was added editorially by the Revisors before “provide” to correspond with technical change enacted in Subdiv. (5)); P.A. 99-55 amended Subsec. (a)(4) by changing reporting date from February to April; P.A. 02-89 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting as obsolete former Subdivs. (5) and (6) re development by July 1, 1995, of a model code of ethics for officials and officers of municipalities and for officers of districts, respectively, and redesignating existing Subdiv. (7) as Subdiv. (5); P.A. 04-204 amended Subsec. (a)(3) to increase vote required to issue advisory opinions from four to five members, effective June 3, 2004; P.A. 05-183 amended Subsec. (a) to change references from the commission to the board and Office of State Ethics, include the duty to maintain informal staff letters, require a majority of board members present and voting for the issuance of advisory opinions, rather than a concurring vote of five members, and add Subdiv. (5) re yearly training of state employees re the code of ethics, Subdiv. (6) re the making of legislative recommendations and Subdiv. (7) re monthly meetings with the office's executive director and ethics enforcement officer, amended Subsec. (b) to provide for the employment of a separate general counsel and ethics enforcement officer, and added Subsec. (c) re appointment and yearly evaluation of the executive director, Subsec. (d) re appointment of the general counsel and ethics enforcement officer, Subsec. (e) re the legal division of the Office of State Ethics, Subsec. (f) re the enforcement division of the Office of State Ethics, Subsec. (g) re authority of the board to adopt regulations and Subsec. (h) re yearly training of state personnel in the code of ethics, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-287 added Subsec. (a)(6) re the commission's authority to enter into contractual agreements necessary for the discharge of its duties and deleted Subsec. (b) re authority to employ an executive director, general counsel and staff, effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 05-288 amended Subsec. (a)(1) and (2) by replacing provision re memoranda filed under Sec. 1-82a(f) with provision re memoranda issued in accordance with Sec. 1-82(b), effective July 13, 2005; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3 amended Subsec. (c) to require that appointment of executive director not be made until all the initial board members appointed to terms commencing on October 1, 2005, are appointed by their respective authorities and amended Subsec. (g) to provide that regulations shall not be deemed to govern the conduct of any judge trial referee, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsecs. (c) and (f), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 13-244 amended Subsec. (a)(3) to add references to “part IV of this chapter”, amended Subsec. (a)(6) to change the report due date from April to February 15 and to substitute “Office of State Ethics” for “commission”, redesignated existing Subsec. (a)(8) as new Subsec. (b) and redesignated existing Subsecs. (b) to (h) as Subsecs. (c) to (i), amended redesignated Subsec. (b) to substitute “Office of State Ethics” for “commission” and made technical and conforming changes; P.A. 13-264 redesignated existing Subsec. (a)(8) as Subsec. (b), redesignated existing Subsecs. (b) to (h) as Subsecs. (c) to (i), replaced “commission” with “Office of State Ethics” in Subsec. (a)(6) and redesignated Subsec. (b) and made technical and conforming changes.