JCOPE Adopts Revised Outside Activity Rules

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has adopted revised regulations relating to “outside activities” for state officials and employees, which it proposed earlier this year.

Under the prior rules, statewide elected officials and employees who are designated as “policy makers” needed JCOPE approval for any non-state employment in which they earned more than $4,000 annually. This threshold has been raised to $5,000.

Also, state officials and employees who serve on the boards of non-profit organizations are now required to notify their employer, even when they are not compensated for their service.

The new rules can be found here.

JCOPE has created a new ‘outside activity approval form,’ which can be found here.