THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY MARSHALL, BAKER, BELFANTI, BOYD, BRENNAN, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, DENLINGER, GEIST, GIBBONS, GROVE, GRUCELA, HARRIS, KORTZ, MELIO, MUSTIO, PEIFER, QUINN, REED, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROCK, SCAVELLO, SONNEY, SWANGER, J. TAYLOR, VULAKOVICH AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 13, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 13, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of July 10, 1968 (P.L.316, No.154), entitled

"An act establishing a code of ethics for the General

Assembly, its officers and employes, and providing remedies

for its enforcement and penalties," further providing for

definitions and for prohibitions.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Sections 3 and 5 of the act of July 10, 1968

(P.L.316, No.154), known as the Legislative Code of Ethics, are

amended to read:

Section 3.  Definitions.--Unless the context clearly

indicates otherwise, the following words and terms when used

herein shall have the respective meanings defined as follows:

(1)  "Agency" means any department, agency, commission,

board, committee, authority or other instrumentality which is

created by or under the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth

of Pennsylvania or by executive order, except local political

subdivisions or agencies, the majority of the members of whose

governing bodies are locally elected or appointed.

(2)  "Agency head" and "head of any agency" mean the chief

executive or administrative officer of each of the State

agencies.

(3)  "Assist" means to act, or agree to act, in such a way as

to help, aid, advise, furnish information to, or otherwise

provide assistance to another person believing that such action

is of help, aid, advice, or assistance to such person and with

intent to so assist such person.

(4)  "Compensation" means any thing of economic value,

however designated, which is paid, loaned, granted, given,

donated or transferred, or to be paid, loaned, granted, given,

donated or transferred for or in consideration of personal

services to any person, official or to the State.

(5)  "Gift," as used in section 5, includes any thing of

economic value with the exception of public awards,

insignificant nonpecuniary gifts, political contributions for

which an accounting is required by and is made pursuant to the

election laws, or compensation or gifts not connected with or

related to either the legislative processes or the donee's

services as a member.

(5.1)  "Legislative nonprofit organization" means a nonprofit

corporation or other entity whose primary purpose is to receive

funds under the General Appropriation Act or another

appropriations act at the discretion or by reason of the

influence of a member for the use at the discretion of the

member.

(6)  "Member" shall include a Senator, Representative,

officer or employe of the General Assembly or any committee

thereof; but not a person employed on a contractual basis or

without compensation for a particular project.

(7)  "State action" means any action on the part of the

Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency, including, but not

limited to: (i) any decision, determination, finding, ruling or

order, including the judgment or verdict of a court or a quasi-

judicial board, in which the Commonwealth or any of its

agencies, boards and commissions has an interest, except in such

matters, involving criminal prosecutions; (ii) any grant,

payment, award, license, contract, transaction, decision,

sanction or approval, or the denial thereof, or the failure to

act with respect thereto, in which the Commonwealth or any of

its agencies has an interest, except in such matters involving

criminal prosecutions; (iii) any disposition of any matter by

the General Assembly or any committee thereof.

(8)  "Participate" in connection with a transaction involving

the Commonwealth means to take part in State action or a

proceeding personally as a Commonwealth official, through

approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, the rendering

of advice, investigation, or the failure to act or perform a

duty.

(9)  "Person" means: (i) an individual, other than a

Commonwealth agency or official; (ii) a partnership,

association, corporation, firm, institution, trust, foundation

or other legal entity (other than an agency), whether or not

operated for profit; (iii) a district, county, municipality or

other political subdivision of the State, or any subdivision

thereof, provided such is not an agency; (iv) a foreign country

or subdivision thereof, or (v) any other entity which is not a

Commonwealth agency or official.

(10)  "Responsibility" in connection with a transaction

involving the Commonwealth means the direct administration or

operating authority whether intermediate or final, and either

exercisable alone or with others, and either personally or

through or with others or subordinates, to effectively approve,

disapprove, fail to act or perform a duty, or otherwise direct

State action in respect of such transaction.

(11)  "Thing of economic value" means any money or other

thing having economic value except food, drink or refreshments

consumed by an official including reasonable transportation and

entertainment incident thereto, while the personal guest of some

person, and includes, without limiting the generality of the

foregoing: (i) any loan, except a bone fide loan made by a duly

licensed bank or savings and loan association at the normal rate

of interest, any property interest, interest in a contract,

merchandise, service and any employment or other arrangement

involving a right to compensation; (ii) any option to obtain a

thing of economic value, irrespective of the conditions to the

exercise of such option; and (iii) any promise or undertaking

for the present or future delivery or procurement of a thing of

economic value.

In the case of an option, promise or undertaking, the time of

receipt of the thing of economic value shall be deemed to be,

respectively, the time the right to the option becomes fixed,

regardless of the conditions to its exercise, and the time when

the promise or undertaking is made, regardless of the conditions

to its performance.

(12)  "Transaction involving the Commonwealth" means any

proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or

other determination, contract, claim, case or other such

particular matter which the official in question believes, or

has reason to believe: (i) is, or will be, the subject of State

action, or (ii) is one to which the Commonwealth is or will be a

party, or (iii) is one in which the Commonwealth has a direct

interest.

Section 5.  Prohibitions.--(a) No member shall knowingly

solicit, accept, or receive any gift or compensation other than

that to which he is duly entitled from the Commonwealth which is

intended to influence the performance of his official duties or

which would influence the performance of his official duties nor

shall any member solicit, accept, or receive any such gift or

compensation for advocating the passage or defeat of any

legislation or for doing any act intended to influence the

passage or defeat of legislation including, in the case of a

Senator or Representative, his vote thereon.

(b)  No member shall receive compensation or any thing of

economic value for any consultation, the subject matter of

which:

(1)  Is devoted substantially to the responsibilities,

programs, or operations of the General Assembly, or

(2)  Draws substantially upon official data or ideas which

have not become part of the body of public information.

(c)  No member shall participate as a principal in any

transaction involving the Commonwealth or any Commonwealth

agency in which he, his spouse or child, or any person of which

he is an officer, director, trustee, partner or employe has a

substantial personal economic interest as distinguished from

that of a general class or general group of persons of which he

may reasonably be expected to know.

(d)  No member shall receive any compensation or enter into

any agreement with any person for compensation for services

rendered or to be rendered, for assisting any person in any

transaction involving the Commonwealth or any of its officials

or agencies unless he shall file with the Chief Clerk of the

House of Representatives or Secretary of the Senate, as the case

may be, a written statement, giving the following information:

(1)  Name and address of member.

(2)  The name and address of the person employing or

retaining the member to perform such services.

(3)  Whether the amount of compensation for services rendered

or to be rendered is (i) one thousand dollars ($1000), or more,

or (ii) less than one thousand dollars ($1000).

(4)  A brief description of the transaction in reference to

which service is rendered or is to be rendered, and of the

nature of the service.

The sworn statement shall be filed with the chief clerk or

secretary within ten days from the date such agreement, express

or implied, was entered into, or the compensation was received.

Such statement of disclosure shall be deemed confidential and

privileged and shall only be made public in connection with a

public hearing for an alleged violation of this code where such

would be relevant to the charges made and for which the member

is being tried.

(e)  Subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this section 5,

shall not apply to:

(1)  Receipt of bona fide reimbursement, to the extent

permitted by law, for actual expenses for travel and such other

necessary subsistence as is compatible with this act and for

which no Commonwealth payment or reimbursement is made.

(2)  Participation in the affairs of charitable, religious,

nonprofit educational, public service or civic organizations, or

the activities of national or State political parties not

proscribed by law.

(3)  Awards for meritorious public contribution given by

public service or civic organizations.

(4)  Sharing in any compensation received from the

Commonwealth or from any political subdivision of the

Commonwealth by a person of which such member owns or controls

any portion thereof, provided such compensation was received by

such person as a result of having made the lowest competitive

bid on a Commonwealth contract or subcontract and having had

such bid accepted by the Commonwealth or the general contractor,

or by reason of an engagement by the Commonwealth in emergency

circumstances where dispensation with bidding is permitted by

law, and provided such member did not assist in the procurement

of the Commonwealth's or the subdivision's or the general

contractor's acceptance of such low bid or engagement without

bidding.

(5)  Campaign contributions for use in meeting campaign

expenses by any official who is or becomes a candidate for

election to the same or another public office.

(6)  Receipt of compensation from the Commonwealth, directly

or indirectly, where: (i) the total interest of the member and

his immediate family in the person receiving said compensation

is less than ten percent, or (ii) the member or the person in

which he has an interest is the exclusive supplier of the real

or personal property or service purchased by the Commonwealth,

or (iii) the service purchased is newspaper advertising required

by law.

(7)  Receipt of compensation, directly or indirectly, by a

member who is an attorney-at-law, for services in a proceeding

where he represents an interest adverse to that of the

Commonwealth, where the proceeding is before any court, where

the Commonwealth has a right to judicial review in a proceeding

not initially before a court, or where the proceeding involves

only the uncontested and routine action of administrative

officers or employes of the Commonwealth in issuing or renewing

a license, charter, certificate or similar document.

(f)  No member shall use for private gain any information not

available to the public at large and acquired by him solely by

virtue of his position.

(g)  No information described in subsection (f) of this

section 5 shall be disclosed by a member to others for purposes

of their use for private gain, in circumstances where the use of

such information by the member would violate subsection (f) of

this section 5.

(h)  No member shall create, maintain or cause to be created

or maintained a legislative nonprofit organization. For purposes

of implementing this subsection, the Committee on Ethics and

Official Conduct of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of

the House of Representatives shall issue to a member of their

body, upon the member's request, an opinion with respect to the

member's duties under this subsection. Each ethics committee

shall, within fourteen days, issue the opinion. No member who

acts in good faith on an opinion issued to that member by an

ethics committee shall be subject to any sanctions for so

acting, if the material facts are as stated in the opinion

request. The respective ethics committees' opinions shall be

public records and may from time to time be published.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.