Advisory Opinion No. 1996-10
Application Of
Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b) To
State Employees Competing For
Second Injury Fund Contract
A bill has been proposed during this legislative session to
provide for the transition of the Second Injury Fund pursuant to Public Act
95-277. See, Raised Bill No.
5799, An Act Authorizing The Discontinuance Of Claims Management Functions Of
The Second Injury fund And The Issuance Of Revenue Bonds Of The State Payable
Solely From Assessments On Employers To Finance The Settlement Of Second Injury
Claims. This bill proposes that the
state discontinue operating the claims management of the Fund by procuring
private management of this function. The Honorable Christopher B. Burnham, State Treasurer, has indicated
that if the legislation under consideration becomes law he anticipates current
state employees, who now staff the Second Injury Fund, may bid on the contract
in order to become the fund management group.
A request for proposal will be drafted, distributed, reviewed, and
selected with strict adherence to the standard competitive bid guidelines. Treasurer Burnham has asked whether the state
employee group may bid on the contract and, if so, how the post-state
employment rules would apply, if these individuals were awarded the contract. The group of individuals who now staff the Second Injury
Fund will bid on the contract while they are still state employees. Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84(i), in pertinent part,
allows a state employee or a business with which the employee is associated, to
enter into a contract with the State valued at one hundred dollars or more, if
the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including
prior public offer and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered
and the contract awarded. The manner in
which the request for proposal will be announced and awarded complies with the
open and public disclosure requirement. See
criteria established in Advisory Opinion No. 87-10, 49 Conn. L.J. No. 8, p. 17C
( Once a fund management group has been selected and is
operational, the current state employees of the Second Injury Fund will be
terminated from state employment. Conn.
Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b) states that no former executive branch public official or
state employee shall, for one year after leaving state service, represent
anyone, other than the state, for compensation before their former agency. Since the Office of the Treasurer will have
ongoing responsibility in the oversight and financing of the selected fund
management group, such group will be required to have continual interaction, i.e.
appearances, before the Office of the Treasurer. However, if the state employee group is
selected, they will then be the equivalent of state consultants representing,
not private interests, but the interests of the State. Such interaction will not, therefore, be an
impermissible appearance in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b) Regulations
of Conn. State Agencies, §1-81-33(b). The Commission has, however, ruled that negotiation of a
compensation agreement with ones former agency will be considered
representation for someone other than the state, i.e. himself or
herself, in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b), unless the compensation
level is no greater than the pay level received at the time of separation of
service. Advisory Opinion No. 90-30, 52
Conn. L.J. No. 15, p.1C ( By order of the Commission, David T. Nassef
Chairperson