Introduced By: Senators Roney and Roberts
Date Introduced : February 10, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 36-14-12 and 36-14-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-14 entitled "Code of Ethics" are hereby amended to read as follows:
36-14-12. Investigative powers of the commission. -- (a) The commission is hereby empowered to investigate allegations of violations of the provisions of this chapter and, in furtherance of any investigation, the commission shall have the power to:
(1) Compel the attendance of witnesses and require the production of evidence; and
(2) Take oral or written evidence under oath or affirmation.
(b) Any person, including any member of the commission, may file with the commission a complaint alleging a violation of this chapter. Any complaint filed with the commission shall be a statement in writing under oath which shall include the name of the person alleged to have committed the violation and which shall set forth in detail the specific act or acts complained of. The commission shall, within seventy-two (72) hours of the filing of any complaint, cause a copy of that complaint to be served, by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon any person alleged in the complaint to have committed a violation of this chapter.
(c) Upon receipt of a written complaint alleging a violation of this chapter, the commission shall within one hundred eighty (180) days of receipt of the written complaint complete its investigation; provided that, the commission may, for good cause shown, grant no more than two (2) extensions of sixty (60) days each.
(1) If the commission determines that the verified complaint does not allege facts sufficient to constitute a knowing and willful violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, it shall dismiss the complaint and notify the complainant and the respondent of the dismissal. The contents and substance of any complaint so dismissed, any answer thereto, and the notice of dismissal shall be made public.
(2) If the commission determines that the verified complaint alleges facts sufficient to constitute a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the commission shall promptly investigate the allegations contained in the complaint, make a finding on the complaint, and any amendment thereto.
(3) If the commission finds after its preliminary investigation that probable cause does not exist to support the allegations of the complaint, the commission shall dismiss the complaint and notify the complainant and the respondent of the dismissal. The contents and substance of any complaint so dismissed, any answer thereto, and the notice of dismissal shall be made public.
(4) If the commission finds that probable cause does exist to support the allegations of the complaint, it shall prepare written findings which shall state in detail the violations complained of and the manner in which they occurred and shall fix a time for hearing on the matter; provided, however, that, before it issues any findings, the commission shall permit the respondent to submit a written statement and/or to appear in person or by counsel for the purpose of presenting arguments and/or written evidence in response to the allegations against him or her. The respondent shall be entitled to examine and make copies of all evidence in the possession of the commission relating to the complaint. Upon the issuance of any findings, the commission shall notify the complainant and the respondent of its action.
(5) If the commission, during the course of its investigation, has probable cause to believe that violations of this chapter, other than those contained in the complaint, have been committed, it may, upon its own motion, amend the complaint to include the violations. The commission shall, within seventy-two (72) hours of any amendment, cause a copy of the amended complaint to be served, by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon any person alleged in the amended complaint to have committed a violation of this chapter. Any person alleged by an amended complaint to have committed a violation of this chapter shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations contained therein.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the commission to make any of its investigatory records public.
{ADD (d) The commission upon a finding pursuant to this section that there fails to exist probable cause for a violation of this chapter shall issue an order dismissing the complaint, and if it finds the complaint to be frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless, the commission shall require the person filing the complaint to pay a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), all or part of which may be paid to the subject of the complaint in reimbursement of said subject's reasonable expenses of defense. ADD}
36-14-13. Adjudicative powers of the commission. -- (a) The commission is hereby empowered to adjudicate the merits of allegations of violations of the Rhode Island code of ethics.
(1) At such a hearing the commission shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses, require the production of evidence, and take oral or written evidence under oath or affirmation;
(2) Each party shall have the right to be represented by legal counsel; to conduct discovery pursuant to rules, adopted by the commission in the exercise of its rulemaking authority, which shall provide for the prompt and early exchange of relevant information and otherwise protect each party from unfair surprise during the course of the proceedings; to compel attendance of witnesses; to examine and cross examine opposing witnesses; to introduce exhibits and otherwise to present any matters to the commission relevant to the complaint;
(3) Oral evidence shall be taken only on oath or affirmation;
(4) There shall be a presumption of innocence on the part of any person alleged to have violated the provisions of this chapter and the burden of proving that the person has violated the provisions of this chapter shall be upon those who allege the violation or violations;
(5) The hearing shall be open to the public;
(6) Objections to the introduction of evidence may be made and shall be noted in the record;
(7) A stenographic record shall be made of all hearings conducted under the provisions of this section;
(8) At the conclusion of proceedings concerning an alleged violation, the commission shall immediately begin deliberations on the evidence and then proceed to determine whether there has been a knowing and willful violation of this chapter;
(9) No persons, other than members of the commission, and independent legal counsel for the limited purpose provided for herein, shall be present during the deliberations of the commission following any hearing conducted under this section. Counsel may not participate in deliberations of the commission. Counsel's sole function shall be to respond to questions of law posed by commission members. A written record shall be maintained of the questions posed to counsel and counsel's responses, which shall become part of the record of proceedings.
(b) In order for the commission to hold a hearing there must be a quorum of five (5) members. For every two (2) members who must recuse themselves from taking part in a hearing due to a conflict, the number needed for a quorum shall be reduced by one.
(c) In order for the commission to find that there has been a knowing and willful violation of this chapter it shall be necessary that a majority of those commissioners who attended all hearings, but in no case fewer than three (3) of the members of the commission shall vote in the affirmative to so find.
(d) The commission, upon a finding pursuant to this section that there has been a violation of this chapter, shall issue an order by which it may:
(1) Require that the violator cease and desist violating the provisions of this chapter;
(2) Require that the violator file any report, statement, or other information as required by this chapter;
(3) Require that the violator pay a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each violation of this chapter and the pecuniary value of any unjust enrichment realized by the violator as the result of his or her violation of this chapter;
(4) Refer the entire record of its proceedings to the attorney general; and/or
(5) Remove the violator from his or her office or position in accordance with the provisions of section 36-14-14, provided the violator is not subject to impeachment.
(e) The commission shall, in the exercise of the rulemaking authority conferred by section 36-14-9(a)(3), promulgate rules and regulations, consistent with the provisions of this section, for the conduct of adjudicative hearings before any adjudicative panel of the commission.
(f) Except in those cases referred to the attorney general pursuant to subsection (d)(4) of this section, a final decision of the commission and the record of proceedings before the commission upon which the final decision is based shall be made public by the commission within thirty (30) days after the final decision is rendered.
{ADD (g) The commission, upon a finding pursuant to this section that there has not been a violation of this chapter, shall issue an order dismissing the complaint and if it finds the complaint to be frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless, the commission shall require the person filing the complaint to pay a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) all or part of which may be paid to the subject of the complaint in reimbursement of said subject's reasonable expense of defense. ADD}
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage and shall apply to any complaints filed subsequent to passage.