Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 268A
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23 (2026)

Supplemental provisions; standards of conduct

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 23. (a) In addition to the other provisions of this chapter, and in supplement thereto, standards of conduct, as hereinafter set forth, are hereby established for all state, county, and municipal employees.

(b) No current officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know:

(1) accept other employment involving compensation of substantial value, the responsibilities of which are inherently incompatible with the responsibilities of his public office;

(2) (i) solicit or receive anything of substantial value for such officer or employee, which is not otherwise authorized by statute or regulation, for or because of the officer or employee's official position; or (ii) use or attempt to use such official position to secure for such officer, employee or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals;

(3) act in a manner which would cause a reasonable person, having knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to conclude that any person can improperly influence or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties, or that he is likely to act or fail to act as a result of kinship, rank, position or undue influence of any party or person. It shall be unreasonable to so conclude if such officer or employee has disclosed in writing to his appointing authority or, if no appointing authority exists, discloses in a manner which is public in nature, the facts which would otherwise lead to such a conclusion; or

(4) present a false or fraudulent claim to his employer for any payment or benefit of substantial value.

(c) No current or former officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know:

(1) accept employment or engage in any business or professional activity which will require him to disclose confidential information which he has gained by reason of his official position or authority;

(2) improperly disclose materials or data within the exemptions to the definition of public records as defined by section seven of chapter four, and were acquired by him in the course of his official duties nor use such information to further his personal interest.

(d) Any activity specifically exempted from any of the prohibitions in any other section of this chapter shall also be exempt from the provisions of this section. The state ethics commission, established by chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, shall not enforce the provisions of this section with respect to any such exempted activity.

(e) Where a current employee is found to have violated the provisions of this section, appropriate administrative action as is warranted may also be taken by the appropriate constitutional officer, by the head of a state, county or municipal agency. Nothing in this section shall preclude any such constitutional officer or head of such agency from establishing and enforcing additional standards of conduct.

(f) The state ethics commission shall adopt regulations: (i) defining substantial value; provided, however, that substantial value shall not be less than $50; (ii) establishing exclusions for ceremonial privileges and exemptions; (iii) establishing exclusions for privileges and exemptions given solely because of family or friendship; and (iv) establishing additional exclusions for other situations that do not present a genuine risk of a conflict or the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 27 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1967–2025 · leading case: Saccone v. State Ethics Comm'n, 480 N.E.2d 13 (Mass. 1985).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Saccone v. State Ethics Comm'n, 480 N.E.2d 13 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 11× “The judge in the Superior Court determined that the commission lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enforce G. L. c. 268A, § 23. We granted the defendant’s application for direct appellate review of the case.”
Attorney Gen. v. Dep't of Pub. Utils., 455 N.E.2d 414 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 4× “The State Ethics Commission considered the matter and ruled that Commissioner *216 Selgrade's participation would not violate the conflict of interest law, including G.L.c. 268A, § 23 ( e ), as then amended, concerning the appearance of impropriety.”
Howell v. The Enter. Publ'g Co., LLC., 920 N.E.2d 1 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “personal business files on a town-owned laptop computer; misuse of town property for possessing "photographs and cartoon-style pictures of a pornographic nature, as well as other inappropriate and obviously non-work related material" on the town laptop and desktop computers;…”
Triplett v. Town of Oxford, 791 N.E.2d 310 (Mass. 2003). · cites it 3× “268A, § 23 (b) (2) (using his official position to secure for certain persons privileges not available to similarly situated individuals), and six times violated G. L. c. 268A, § 23 (b) (3) (acting in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to conclude that certain…”
Commonwealth v. Canon, 368 N.E.2d 1181 (Mass. 1977). · cites it 2× “Additionally, a number of proscribed acts are covered by G.L.c. 268A, § 23, in nonpenal terms. Such latter acts may be grounds for administrative action against the offending employee whether covered by the criminal provisions of the statute or not.”
Commonwealth v. Boucher, 780 N.E.2d 47 (Mass. 2002). “132, § 13 (allowing destruction of trees infested with beetles that spread Dutch elm disease, or are “likely to become so infested" [emphasis added]); G. L. c. 268A, § 23 (b) (3) (precluding public employees from acting “in a manner which would cause a reasonable person .”
Larch v. Mansfield Mun. Elec. Dep't, 272 F.3d 63 (1st Cir. 2001). “The other statutes Larch cited are Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(2) (government employees shall not use their official position to secure, for themselves or for others, "unwarranted privileges .”
Scaccia v. State Ethics Comm'n, 727 N.E.2d 824 (Mass. 2000). · cites it 2× “268B, § 7; and the public officials’ code of conduct statute, G. L. c. 268A, § 23 (b) (3), by accepting free meals and rounds of golf from tobacco and insurance industry lobbyists without disclosing them on his statement of financial interests.”
Sciuto v. City of Lawrence, 452 N.E.2d 1148 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 2× “the then city solicitor gave a requested opinion to Alderman Schiavone that, if his brother were to pass a civil service examination and were to be certified by the commission, Alderman Schiavone could lawfully appoint his brother to a higher position in the police department,…”
Tobin v. Sheriff of Suffolk Cnty., 385 N.E.2d 972 (Mass. 1979). · cites it 2× “221, § 72, G. L. c. 268A, §§ 23[f] and 25) as requiring the approval of the justices for the suspension of a court officer where there has been no indictment for misconduct in office.”
Turner v. City of Boston, 969 N.E.2d 695 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 4× “In particular, they argue that G. L. c. 268A, § 23 (e), “specifically authorized” the council to remove Turner, and that rule 40A merely supplied the procedural means of enforcing this statutory provision.”
Craven v. State Ethics Comm'n, 454 N.E.2d 471 (Mass. 1983). “The commission also found that the plaintiff violated G. L. c. 268A, § 23 (d), as amended through St.”
Show all 27 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(2) — 1 case
Larch v. Mansfield Mun. Elec. Dep't, 272 F.3d 63 (1st Cir. 2001). “The other statutes Larch cited are Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(2) (government employees shall not use their official position to secure, for themselves or for others, "unwarranted privileges .”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(2)(H) — 1 case
O'Connor v. Spain, 84 F. Supp. 3d 60 (D. Mass. 2015).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(2)(h) — 1 case
O'Connor v. Spain, 84 F. Supp. 3d 60 (D. Mass. 2015).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(2)(ii) — 1 case
O'Connor v. Spain, 84 F. Supp. 3d 60 (D. Mass. 2015).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(b)(3) — 3 cases
Fabiano v. Hopkins, 245 F. Supp. 2d 305 (D. Mass. 2003).
Wall v. Guinasso, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 403 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995).
Healey v. Massachusetts Civil Serv. Comm'n, 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 491 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2002).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(c)(2) — 1 case
Melville v. Town of Adams, 9 F. Supp. 3d 77 (D. Mass. 2014).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268A, § 23(f) — 2 cases
Tobin v. Sheriff of Suffolk Cnty., 385 N.E.2d 972 (Mass. 1979). “221, § 72, G. L. c. 268A, §§ 23[f] and 25) as requiring the approval of the justices for the suspension of a court officer where there has been no indictment for misconduct in office.”
O'Connor v. Spain, 84 F. Supp. 3d 60 (D. Mass. 2015).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.