The Citizens Advisory Board of the office of State Ethics met today and covered several issues of interest. Of particular note to the lobbying and state contractor community were two items. The first was the Legal Division’s request of the Board to issue and Advisory Opinion on the question of whether or not a state employee or public official may receive funding from a non-restrictive donor to attend a conference or other educational opportunity. Second, the OSE had been criticized by the media in the spring for failing to issue a press release when a public official paid a penalty for a late filing of their statement of financial interest (SFI). Executive Director Carol Carson provided the Board with a Press Release Policy for the agency which stated that, while current policy is to issue a release for action brought under CGS 1-82 or CGS 1-93 that result in a probable cause finding or a public resolution only, going forward the agency will be adding new features to its website that will post when a public official or lobbyist has violated UAPA or 1-82 or 1-93.
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