RI ethics panel: Ciccone can vote on gun bills

Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone III’s side business selling guns out of his house does not prevent him from discussing and voting on an assault-style weapons ban or other gun legislation, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission decided Tuesday.

The ethics panel’s 8-1 vote follows the recommendation put forth by its staff, which concluded that Ciccone’s federal firearms license is not a conflict of interest with the high-profile gun legislation pending at the Rhode Island State House.

The four-page opinion, presented by Staff Attorney Lynne Radiches, invoked the class exemption within the state’s ethics code, reasoning that Ciccone does not stand to benefit, or suffer, any more or less from state gun laws than the other 98 federally licensed firearms dealers in the state, including the other 79 with a Class 1 license.

Ciccone, D-Providence, Johnston, referenced the same exemption in his letter to the Ethics Commission asking for advice.

Ciccone, who did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, was unaware of the commission’s decision until he was contacted by Rhode Island Current.

“I believe they looked at all the facts, and they came to their conclusion,” Ciccone said.

However, the advisory opinion comes with an important caveat: If any of the gun bills under review by the Rhode Island General Assembly, including the assault weapons ban legislation, are amended in a way that impacts Ciccone, or fellow Class 1 license holders, more than other federal firearms dealers, Ciccone should recuse himself or seek a new advisory opinion.

Ciccone, a longtime opponent to state gun restrictions, has already indicated he wants to see changes to the proposed assault-style weapons ban in order for him to support it.

Fresh off a marathon hearing before the Senate Committee on Judiciary on May 14, Ciccone said he still has questions over the legality of the legislation as drafted. However, he declined to specify what changes he’d like to see made, or whether he intends to support the controversial issue already named a top priority by Gov. Dan McKee.

“I am waiting to see what decisions the committee is going to make, what changes the sponsor is going to make,” Ciccone said. “At this point in time, I don’t know. It’s up to the committee.”

A committee vote on the assault weapons ban bill had not been scheduled as of Tuesday.

Better late than never

Ciccone has been a state lawmaker for 22 years, and licensed to sell guns since the 1980s. But this was the first time he asked for ethics advice on gun-related legislation. Asked why now, he said he never served on the Senate Judiciary committee, and therefore had little sway over whether gun-related bills advanced to the full chamber.

Now, as the newly elected Senate majority leader, Ciccone is an ex-officio member on all Senate committees, meaning he can vote to advance a bill to the full chamber.

Ethics Commissioner Christopher Callahan cast the sole vote against giving Ciccone permission to vote on gun bills, pointing to the senator’s leadership role as reason for his hesitation.

“My perception is that there is potential as a senior political leader that he may have greater influence on the outcome of the decision,” Callahan said in an interview after the meeting. Callahan, the retired head of the Rhode Island National Guard, was tapped by Gov. Dan McKee in April to serve on the state ethics panel.

Commissioner Hugo Ricci Jr. disagreed.

“He has one vote, the same as any other lawmaker,” Ricci said during the commission discussion. “He’s not president of the Senate.”

Ciccone’s leadership role a fresh complication

Common Cause Rhode Island Executive Director John Marion, who attended the meeting, said he was not surprised that the panel granted permission for Ciccone to vote on gun bills, given its “liberal” application of the class exemption in recent history.

However, Marion said he wished the panel had a more robust discussion of Ciccone’s role in leadership.

“The majority leader helps set the agenda for the chamber, deciding what bills move and what bill dies,” Marion said. “That’s part of what the ethics commission can regulate.”

Marion expects the need for ethics input on legislative conflicts of interest will increase under the new Senate leadership team, both for Ciccone and for Senate President Valarie Lawson. Lawson’s day job as president of one of the state’s two largest teachers’ unions has already prompted concern by some of her colleagues about potential conflicts of interest. She has not requested an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission since her election on April 30, though she said at the time she was considering it.

“Out of an abundance of caution, she is in the process of formulating a question to the Ethics Commission and will be submitting it to them soon,” Greg Pare, a spokesperson for Senate leadership, said in an email Tuesday.

Nancy Lavin is senior reporter covering state politics, energy and environmental issues for the Rhode Island Current. RI Current is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.