Advisory Opinion No. 1996-14

Cable Advisory Council Members Are Not Public Officials
Within The Meaning Of Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-79(k)

The petitioner, the Chairman of the Cable Advisory Council of South Central Connecticut, has asked whether Council members are subject to the Code of Ethics for Public Officials, Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 10, Part I.  The Council serves a multi-town district whose member towns lack a uniform code or ordinance dealing with ethics and conflicts of interests.

Cable Advisory Council appointees are selected by municipal officials representing member towns.  The term “public official,” as used in the State Ethics Code, applies only to “any statewide elected officer, any member or member-elect of the general assembly, any person appointed to any office of the legislative, judicial or executive branch of state government by the governor . . . , any sheriff or deputy sheriff, any person appointed or elected by the general assembly or by any member of either house thereof; and any member or director of a quasi-public agency.”  As a result, the members of the Council are not public officials within the meaning of §1-79(k) and are not subject to the Code of Ethics administered by the State State Ethics Commission.

The Commission, pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. §§1-81(5) and (6), has promulgated model codes of ethics for municipalities and multi-town districts.  Although the Commission does not administer these codes, the Council may wish to explore the possibility of the adoption and enforcement of a uniform code by its member towns.

By order of the Commission,

David T. Nassef
Chairperson