2005-10-12 Board of Ethics Minutes Regular mc

Home

let's say Board of Appeals, there's no requirement that you be represented by an attorney, and you have one matter before the Board, and if somebody comes to represent you, and you're going to pay them. But that entire matter before the Board takes less than five hours, and you have that one appearance, you don't have to register. If you don't take anybody out to lunch, you know, you're entire dealing with the County took less than five hours, and I looked at some of the rationale and some of the discussion on the State level when they made amendments, and part of it was the reason that there are these qualifications in terms of when you have to register, is that they did not want every single person who ever appeared at any time to have to register. So they wanted someone who's actually spending a certain amount of time or a certain amount of money. So in other words, if my brother has an application, I'm not there as his attorney, so I have to —you know—if he's going to pay be a hundred bucks to process stuff for him, and I make one appearance on his behalf, and that's it, and it's less than five hours, and I don't take anybody out to lunch, I don't have to register as a lobbyist. WJ: But this is my question. Okay. The same scenario. You get $100, and it took you five and a half hours. And you didn't take anyone out to lunch. BLT: Then you hit that plateau. You took five and a half hours in WJ: -- that's what I was getting at. It's just pay plus more than five hours, or the $275. BLT: Yeah. And it's pay plus the $275. Pay or consideration plus five, or pay or consideration plus $275. But if you're doing it manuahi, if you're doing it free, you don't have to. WJ: I got it. I got it. CHAIR: In your researchso, some typing up of the definition of ministerial functions, I mean that needs to be certainly looked at. And then so, I Board, would you feel comfortable in making a decision today, or do we need to KK: You know, Mr. Chairman. I don't know what decision you're referring to. CHAIR: Well Mr. Frankel wants us to decide- KK: - -We have made the decision that she'll do research. Mr. Fuke in this case is only an example and not —we're not going to rule anything on Mr. Fuke. FRANKEL: I think you're incorrect about that. You're extrapolating more from my statement than I said. I said it's an example, but you still need to make a ruling CHAIR: - -on what? He needs to register as a lobbyist or not? FRANKEL: Whether he needs to register as a lobbyist. 16