town clerk (there is no "public notice" or "competitive bid" requirement for this "special municipal employee" exemption).

2. As a "special municipal employee", you may even have a financial interest in a contract with your own department (or with a department which has overlapping jurisdiction with your department), provided that you file a disclosure of your interest in the contract with the city or town clerk and the board of selectmen, board of aldermen, town council or city council vote to grant you an exemption to §20.

Example: You are a member of the School Committee, which has been given "special municipal employee" status. You also own a hardware store in town.

You may sell light bulbs to the town's Department of Public Works, because Public Works is not under the jurisdiction of the School Committee; however, you must file a disclosure of your interest in the lightbulb sales with the Town Clerk.

You also may sell light bulbs to the School Department (which is under the School Committee's jurisdiction), but only if you file a disclosure of your interest in the lightbulb sales with the Town Clerk and the Board of Selectmen vote to exempt your lightbulb sales from the restrictions of §20.

For more information about restrictions on holding an interest in municipal contracts, contact your city solicitor or town counsel or the Legal Division of the State Ethics Commission.

Section 20 -- Restrictions on Holding Multiple Municipal Positions

Because the restrictions of §20 also apply to employment contracts, municipal employees are generally prohibited from holding more than one municipal position. However, there are many exemptions to this general prohibition. If you are a municipal employee -- regular or "special" -- you may:

1. hold any number of unpaid positions, because you do not have a financial interest in any of the positions (however, if you hold even one paid appointed position, you must look for other exemptions);
2. hold any number of elected positions, whether paid or unpaid, because you serve in those positions by virtue of your election, rather than because of an appointment or employment contract (however, if you hold even one paid appointed position, you must look for other exemptions); and
3. in some instances, you may hold more than one paid appointed position, provided that the jobs are in separate departments (which do not have overlapping responsibilities) and all paid jobs have been publicly advertised. However, your board of selectmen, board of aldermen, town council or city council must vote to exempt you from §20, and there are also other requirements you must meet. For more information, request Advisory No. 7: Multiple Office Holding from the