Legislative ethics panel approves Yale intern for Representative Hall's office

The Select Committee on Legislative Ethics informed members during a July 25 teleconference that it approved an internship for Jake Bernstein to work in Representative Hall's office, Administrator Kevin Reeve said.

The committee’s approval is limited to the internship itself; staffing authorization must still be decided by the chambers’ rules processes. The committee reviewed Bernstein’s application, confirmed required ethics training, and forwarded the internship paperwork to the rules committee chair for staffing approval.

Kevin Reeve, the committee administrator, told the committee: “We did approve it after consultation with the chair. The internship was approved, and it has been forwarded back the approval had been returned to the representative's office and also forwarded to the rules committee chair, for her approval as well since it affects staffing, and we are pending response on that.”

According to Reeve, the internship began June 19 and is expected to continue into August or September; the intern is affiliated with the Yale University Department of Political Science and will perform research and prepare a white paper for Representative Hall’s office. The committee noted that interns are required by statute to complete portions of mandatory ethics training; Reeve said Bernstein completed the training on July 25.

Committee Chair Joyce (chair) explained that the ethics committee’s role is to vet internships for conflicts (for example to ensure they are not lobbyist placements) but not to approve office staffing or salary. Reeve confirmed the internship does not include a salary; staffing and any compensation decisions must be approved by the appropriate house or senate rules body.

Next steps: the paperwork has been returned to Representative Hall’s office and sent to the rules committee chair; committee members said they will follow up on the rules chair’s response before any staffing placement is finalized.