Advisory Opinion No. 1993-17
Acceptance Of
Necessary Expense Payments By The
Spouse Of
The Governor
The Governor has asked the State Ethics Commission whether, under the Code of Ethics for Public Officials, Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 10, Part I, his wife may accept reimbursement of necessary expenses for participation in official events.
Under §1-84(k) of the Code:
No public official or state employee shall accept a fee or honorarium for an article, appearance or speech, or for participation at an event, in his official capacity, provided a public official or state employee may receive payment or reimbursement for necessary expenses for any such activity in his official capacity.
Necessary expenses are defined by §1-79(l) of the Code as:
a public officials or state employees expenses for an article, appearance or speech or for participation at an event, in his official capacity, which shall be limited to necessary travel expenses, lodging for the nights before, of and after the appearance, speech or event, meals and any related conference or seminars registration fees.
were talking about a person in
his or her official capacity. That is
the person who indeed will be able to receive the necessary expenses. If I wanted to bring my wife with me down to
Aruba, even though I might consider it necessary expenses, the law would now,
and I would have to or she would have to pay for any bills that are incurred on
her way down, on her way back and while she was with me. Volume 34, H. R. Proc.,
part 30, In fact, trips for the spouse and other guests of the public
official to various resorts, given in lieu of a cash fee or honorarium, were a
specific practice the State Ethics Commission sought to prohibit in proposing the
enactment of the legislation now under review. The acceptance of expense payments by the Governors spouse
for participation in officials events is, however,
distinguishable. It is well established,
at both the federal and state levels of government, that
the spouse of the chief executive is, not infrequently, called upon to perform
certain official activities, either with or in the place of the chief
executive. The event that engendered
this request for advice is a good example.
Under such circumstances, the spouse of the Governor is
functioning as a representative of the State and its citizens; essentially
equivalent to the role of a public official.
As a logical and practical consequence, the State Ethics Commission believes
that, when performing these duties, Mrs. Weicker
should be permitted to accept expense payments, under the same limitations and
with the same disclosure required of other State servants. When, however, Mrs. Weicker
is invited to an event solely as a guest, the Codes general rule prohibiting
acceptance of expense payments will continue to apply. In closing, it should be noted that this Opinion does not
address the issue of reimbursement payments made to the Governors spouse by
the State of By order of the Commission, Christopher T. Donohue
Chairperson