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

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268B, § 4 (2026)

Investigations by the commission

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

Section 4. (a) Upon receipt of a sworn complaint signed under the penalties of perjury, or upon receipt of evidence which is deemed sufficient by the commission, the commission shall initiate a preliminary inquiry into any alleged violation of chapter 268A or 268B. At the commencement of a preliminary inquiry into any such alleged violation, the general counsel shall notify the attorney general in order to avoid overlapping civil and criminal investigations. All commission proceedings and records relating to a preliminary inquiry or initial staff review used to determine whether to initiate an inquiry shall be confidential, except that the general counsel may turn over to the attorney general, the United States Attorney or a district attorney of competent jurisdiction evidence which may be used in a criminal proceeding. The general counsel shall notify any person who is the subject of the preliminary inquiry of the existence of such inquiry and the general nature of the alleged violation within 30 days of the commencement of the inquiry.

(b) If a preliminary inquiry fails to indicate reasonable cause for belief that this chapter or said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A has been violated, the commission shall immediately terminate the inquiry and so notify, in writing, the complainant, if any, and the person who had been the subject of the inquiry. All commission records and proceedings from any such preliminary inquiry, or from any initial staff review to determine whether to initiate an inquiry, shall be confidential.

(c) If a preliminary inquiry indicates reasonable cause for belief that this chapter or said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A has been violated, the commission may, upon a majority vote, initiate an adjudicatory proceeding to determine whether there has been such a violation. The commission shall initiate such an adjudicatory proceeding within 5 years from the date the commission learns of the alleged violation, but not more than 6 years from the date of the last conduct relating to the alleged violation.

(d) The commission may require by summons the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers and other records relating to any matter being investigated by it pursuant to this chapter or said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A. Such summons may be issued by the commission only upon a majority vote of the commission and shall be served in the same manner as summonses for witnesses in civil cases, and all provisions of law relative to summonses issued in such cases, including the compensation of witnesses, shall apply to summonses issued by the commission. Such summonses shall have the same force, and be obeyed in the same manner, and under the same penalties in case of default, as if issued by order of a justice of the superior court and may be quashed only upon motion of the summonsed party and by order of a justice of the superior court.

(e) Any member of the commission may administer oaths and any member of the commission may hear testimony or receive other evidence in any proceeding before the commission.

(f) All testimony in a commission adjudicatory proceeding shall be under oath. All parties shall have the right to call and examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits, to cross-examine witnesses who testify, to submit evidence, and to be represented by counsel. Before testifying, all witnesses shall be given a copy of the regulations governing commission proceedings. All witnesses shall be entitled to be represented by counsel.

(g) Any person whose name is mentioned during an adjudicatory proceeding of the commission and who may be adversely affected thereby may appear personally before the commission on his own behalf, with or without an attorney, to give a statement in opposition to such adverse mention or file a written statement of such opposition for incorporation into the record of the proceeding.

(h) All adjudicatory proceedings of the commission carried out pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be public, unless the members vote to go into executive session.

(i) Within thirty days after the end of an adjudicatory proceeding pursuant to the provisions of this section, the commission shall meet in executive session for the purpose of reviewing the evidence before it. Within thirty days after completion of deliberations, the commission shall publish a written report of its findings and conclusions.

(j) The commission, upon a finding pursuant to an adjudicatory proceeding that there has been a violation of said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A or a violation of this chapter, may issue an order requiring the violator to:

(1) cease and desist such violation of said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A or this chapter;

(2) file any report, statement or other information as required by said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A or this chapter; or

(3) pay a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation of this chapter or chapter 268A, with the exception of a violation of section 2 of chapter 268A, which shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000.

The commission may file a civil action in superior court to enforce such order and any order issued by the commission in accordance with chapter 268A.

(k) Any final action by the commission made pursuant to chapter 268A or 268B shall be subject to review in superior court upon petition of any party in interest filed within thirty days after the action for which review is sought. The court shall enter a judgment enforcing, modifying or setting aside the order of the commission or it may remand the proceedings to the commission for such further action as the court may direct. If the court modifies or sets aside the commission order or remands the proceedings to the commission, the court shall determine whether such modification, set aside or remand is substantial. If the court does find such modification, set aside or remand to be substantial, the employee shall be entitled to be reimbursed from the treasury of the commonwealth for reasonable attorneys' fees and all court costs incurred by him in the defense of the charges contained in said proceedings. The amount of such reimbursement shall be awarded by the court, but shall not exceed $30,000 per person, per case. Reimbursement of such costs shall be applicable to state, county or municipal employees whose conduct is so regulated by the provisions of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A and this chapter.

(l) The superior court shall have concurrent jurisdiction to issue orders under paragraph (j) in a civil action brought by the attorney general. In any such action, an advisory opinion of the commission under clause (g) of section 3 shall be binding to the same extent as it is against the commission under that clause.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2023 · 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 3× “Subsection (a) of G. L. c. 268B, § 4, provides, “Upon receipt of a sworn complaint .”
Doe v. State Ethics Comm'n, 827 N.E.2d 694 (Mass. 2005). · cites it 11× “3 Following a hearing, a judge in the Superior Court concluded that the commission has the power to issue a summons during a preliminary inquiry under G. L. c. 268B, § 4, and that the summons, therefore, was lawfully issued.”
Craven v. State Ethics Comm'n, 454 N.E.2d 471 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 3× “Although G. L. c. 268B, § 4 (c), provides that a majority vote of the commission is necessary for such an order to issue, there is no evidence in this record as to which members voted.”
Zora v. State Ethics Comm'n, 615 N.E.2d 180 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 268B, § 4 (1990 ed.). The plaintiffs filed a complaint for judicial review in the Superior Court and the commission counterclaimed for affirmation of its decision.”
State Ethics Comm'n v. Doe, 631 N.E.2d 37 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 6× “Pursuant to G. L. c. 268B, § 4 (d) (1992 ed.), the commission filed a complaint requesting an order compelling the defendant to comply.”
Quinn v. State Ethics Comm'n, 516 N.E.2d 124 (Mass. 1987). · cites it 2× “See G.L.c. 268B, § 4 ( k ) (1986 ed.); G.L.c.”
Nantasket Beachfront Condos., LLC v. Hull Redevelopment Auth., 32 N.E.3d 318 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 3× “See G. L. c. 268B, § 4(a) (governing the filing of verified administrative complaints with the commission).”
Scaccia v. State Ethics Comm'n, 727 N.E.2d 824 (Mass. 2000). “We therefore remand the case to the Superior Court for remand to the commission for a hearing regarding the civil penalty to be assessed against Scaccia.”
Howell v. Enter. Publ'g Co., 893 N.E.2d 1270 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008). “Likewise, G. L. c. 268B, § 4, discussing investigations by the State ethics commission, keeps confidential only the records and the proceedings from preliminary inquiries and initial staff reviews.”
McMann v. State Ethics Comm'n, 590 N.E.2d 693 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992). “268A, §§ 19 & 20, and assessed a civil penalty of $10,000 pursuant to G. L. c. 268B, § 4(/)(3). On cross motions for summary judgment 1 on the plaintiff’s complaint for judicial review and on the commission’s counterclaim for en *422 forcement of its decision and order, see G.”
Opinion of the Justices to the Senate, 392 N.E.2d 849 (Mass. 1979). “It appears that the filing requirements would be enforced by the State Ethics Commission, which under G. L. c. 268B, § 4 (d), may issue *819 cease and desist orders or order payment of civil penalties up to $1,000 for violations of G.”
Commonwealth v. Triplett, 4 Mass. L. Rptr. 370 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). “The Commission acted pursuant to M.G.L.c. 268B, §4(a), which permits the Commission to turn over any information obtained in its investigations to a prosecutor’s office.”
Show all 15 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268B, § 4(a) — 3 cases
Nantasket Beachfront Condos., LLC v. Hull Redevelopment Auth., 32 N.E.3d 318 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “See G. L. c. 268B, § 4(a) (governing the filing of verified administrative complaints with the commission).”
Commonwealth v. Triplett, 4 Mass. L. Rptr. 370 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). “The Commission acted pursuant to M.G.L.c. 268B, §4(a), which permits the Commission to turn over any information obtained in its investigations to a prosecutor’s office.”
Lafferty v. Martha's Vineyard Comm'n, 17 Mass. L. Rptr. 501 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2004).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268B, § 4(c) — 1 case
Nantasket Beachfront Condos., LLC v. Hull Redevelopment Auth., 32 N.E.3d 318 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “See G. L. c. 268B, § 4(a) (governing the filing of verified administrative complaints with the commission).”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268B, § 4(k) — 1 case
Triplett v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Ethics Comm'n, 4 Mass. L. Rptr. 703 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1996).
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.