The governor says the 44-question survey is "completely outrageous."

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, February 2, 2005

BY SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri's staff is urging his nominees to the Lottery Commission and Coastal Resources Management Council not to fill out an extensive questionnaire that the Senate has distributed as part of the confirmation process.

The 44-question survey from the Senate Judiciary Committee asks the nominees to list their places of employment and residence since age 18, provide phone numbers for ex-wives or ex-husbands, and submit copies of their last three years of state and federal income tax returns.

Other questions ask if they are "presently addicted or dependent upon any drugs or alcohol," have ever been a material witness in a criminal proceeding, and if they have been fired from a job to identify the employer and explain the departure.

"It's totally unnecessary -- way over the top," Governor Carcieri said of the form yesterday. "They are unpaid volunteer positions."

Carcieri called the document "absolutely ridiculous," "totally inappropriate," "completely outrageous" and "foolishness."

Several nominees yesterday said they were holding off on the form until they heard from Carcieri's office. The surveys are due next week.

The questionnaire is the latest battle between Carcieri and the General Assembly over how to implement the separation-of-powers constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed by voters in November. The amendment bars lawmakers from any board or commission that exercises executive authority.

The governor says the survey is "completely outrageous," but the Senate's Judiciary chairman says not filling out the questionnaire may affect a nominee's confirmation.

Judiciary Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey, D-Warwick, said the Senate now has "additional duties and responsibilities to do due diligence above and beyond what we've done in the past because there are no legislators on those boards and commissions anymore to report back to us."

McCaffrey said he plans to also ask nominees for Cabinet positions, the child advocate and other legislative bodies -- such as the Public Utilities Commission -- to fill out the survey. Other groups, such as the Library Board of Rhode Island, will not get the form.

McCaffrey said the information provided would not be made public.

When asked if a nominee's failure to complete the questionnaire would have any bearing on confirmation, McCaffrey said: "That puts up a red flag in my mind -- is somebody hiding something and what are they hiding."

Carcieri said he is trying to encourage people to donate their time to public service and this only deters people from coming forward.

He noted that elected officials don't have to submit themselves to such scrutiny. "It's a standard they don't hold themselves to and I'm not held to. Why should it be any different," Carcieri said.

State law requires all elected officials and people on boards and commissions to submit a form to the Ethics Commission disclosing any major financial holding they or immediate family members have.

"Our problem with corruption has not been public volunteers serving on boards and commissions," Carcieri said.

When asked what the problem is, Carcieri smiled and just said: "You know the answer to that."

Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano, D-North Providence, is not taking as hard a line as McCaffrey. He said the survey is appropriate for some "major appointments," such as department heads and the PUC but "probably not warranted" for the Lottery Commission and CRMC.

Montalbano and Carcieri said they plan to discuss the issue during a lunch meeting tomorrow.

Montalbano yesterday also backed away from not confirming Carcieri's Lottery Commission and CRMC appointments. When Carcieri made the nominations last month, Montalbano said "no one in the Senate questions his ability to name those people."

However, yesterday he said the confirmations would not take place until a law is in place specifying who gets the ability to fill seats once held by legislators or their appointees.

Last year, the Senate made an agreement with Carcieri that the six Assembly-controlled seats on the Lottery Commission would be split between the governor and the general treasurer, Montalbano said. That agreement was reflected in a bill passed by the Senate last year.

That legislation died in the House. House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, said this week that some type of bill would pass this month.

Even if the Senate moves forward with the confirmation process, its members might have no questionnaires to review.

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said that members of the governor's staff who deal with appointments called the nominees Monday and "explained to them that we were still trying to work out with the House and Senate the situation on the form."

They were told that "it would be best if they held off filling out the form until we had further conversations," Neal said.

Richard L. Pastore, who was nominated to the Lottery Commission, yesterday called the questionnaire "abusive."

"It is nothing more than a move . . . to maintain their control of the Lottery Commission by basically a subversive avenue," Pastore said. "The questionnaire is so burdensome. I'm sure that they're hoping that everybody just says 'I am not giving you this information.' "

Julie G. Duffy, another Lottery Commission nominee, said: "It has a lot of information that I don't think should be in the public realm and doesn't seem to have a lot to do with volunteering for the Lottery Commission."

Anna F. Prager, a nominee for the CRMC said she has "never had to fill out such an onerous form."

But she said she has "nothing to hide" and will complete the survey "only because I don't want to find out that that is the reason why I have not been appointed."

Digital Extra: Read the complete questionnaire from the Senate Judiciary Committee for the governor's nominees to prominent positions, at:

http://projo.com/news/pdf/2005/questionnaire.pdf