CEO 79-15 -- March 22, 1979

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS' LICENSING BOARD MEMBER SERVING ON BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CONTRACTORS' ASSOCIATION

To: (Name withheld at the person's request.)

Prepared by: Phil Claypool

SUMMARY:

Section 112.313(11), F. S. 1977, prohibits a member of a state examining or licensing board for a profession or occupation from simultaneously serving as an officer, director, or administrator of a state, county, or regional organization or association of that profession or occupation. The intent of this provision of the Code of Ethics is to prohibit the conflict of interest which arises because the goals of a state licensing board and those of a private professional or occupational organization, while not always conflicting, necessarily will be at variance on some points; one body exists to protect the public, and the other to protect the interests of its members. A regional chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. exists to further the interests of all contractors in the area, including electrical contractors. Accordingly, one who serves on the board of directors of such regional chapter is prohibited by s. 112.313(11) from serving simultaneously on the State Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board.

QUESTION:

Does a prohibited conflict of interest exist when I, a member of the Florida Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, also serve on the board of directors of an association of contractors?

Your question is answered in the affirmative.

In your letter of inquiry you advise that you have been appointed to the State Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board. In addition, you advise, you serve on the board of directors of the Gulf Coast Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. You also write in your letter of inquiry that, of the Gulf Coast Chapter's 227 members, only 14 are subject to the regulation of the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board.

The Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board is responsible for the registration and certification of all electrical contractors in the state. Part VII, Ch. 468, F. S. 1977. Under that part, the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board has the authority to examine, register, and certify electrical contractors, as well as the authority, when no local board exists, to conduct investigations in order to determine whether a registration or certificate should be revoked or suspended. Section 468.190, F. S. (1978 Supp.).

The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees provides in relevant part:

PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARD MEMBERS. -- No officer, director, or administrator of a Florida state, county, or regional professional or occupational organization or association, while holding such position, shall be eligible to serve as a member of a state examining or licensing board for the profession or occupation. [Section 112.313(11), F. S. 1977.]

This provision clearly would prohibit you from serving as a director of a regional association of electrical contractors while also serving on the State Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board. The question is whether you also are prohibited from serving as a director of a regional occupational association, which includes electrical contractors as well as other types of contractors.

In our view, the intent of s. 112.313(11), above, is to prohibit the conflict of interest which arises because the goals of a state licensing board and those of a private occupational organization, while not always conflicting, necessarily will be at variance at some points; one body exists to protect the public, and the other to protect the interests of its members. See CEO 77-2. The fact that the occupational association which you serve as director exists to further the interests of all contractors in the area, and not merely electrical contractors, does not obviate the association's serving to protect the interests of electrical contractors. Therefore, the conflict of interest in this situation is the same as that contemplated by the statute.

Accordingly, we find that the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees prohibits you from serving on the board of directors of the Gulf Coast Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. while you are serving on the Florida Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board.