Questions about the Ethics Act, its requirements and prohibitions:
State Ethics Commission
Room 309
Finance Building
Telephone: 717.783.1610
The Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa. C. S. §§ 1101-1113, requires that all public employees and public officials complete and file financial disclosure statements.
In addition, certain requirements and restrictions apply to former public employees and former public officials. They include:
- All employees who meet the definition of public official or public employee, as set forth in the Ethics Act, are required to complete and file financial interest statements each year the position is held and the year following termination of service. The forms are due on or before May 1. The forms require the disclosure of financial information for the prior calendar year. All public employees and public officials will be officially notified and provided a financial disclosure form in order to meet this requirement.
- No former public official or former public employee shall represent a person, with actual or promised compensation, on any matter before the agency with which the employee was associated for one year after the employee leaves that agency.
- No former executive-level state employee may, for a period of two years from the time that the employee terminates state employment, be employed by, receive compensation from, assist, or act in a representative capacity for any business or corporation that the employee actively participated in recruiting to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or that he actively participated in inducing to open a new plant, facility, or branch in the Commonwealth or that he actively participated in inducing to expand an existing plant or facility within the Commonwealth, provided that the above prohibition will be invoked only when the recruitment or inducement is accomplished by a grant or loan of money or a promise of a grant or loan of money from the Commonwealth to the business or corporation recruited or induced to expand.
Definition — "Executive-Level State Employee" – The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, cabinet members, deputy secretaries, the Governor's office staff, and any state employee with discretionary powers which may affect the outcome of a state agency's decision in relation to a private corporation or business or any employee who by virtue of his job function could influence the outcome of such a decision.
