State tax chief Mark Nunnelly to lead new technology agency

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/15/state-tax-chief-gets-new-technology-job/w2qJNLOKA3oVHPPAbNluNL/story.html



Mark E. Nunnelly.

State tax chief Mark Nunnelly to lead new technology agency
By Frank Phillips Globe Staff March 16, 2016

Governor Charlie Baker, who for most of the past year skirted state law by allowing his revenue commissioner Mark E. Nunnelly to serve on paid corporate boards, has moved Nunnelly to a new position in his administration.

Baker announced Tuesday that Nunnelly will take over a newly created post, executive director of MassIT, the state’s technology office, on April 4. He will report to the governor.

The move follows some controversy over Nunnelly’s appointment to head the state Department of Revenue. The law establishing the commissioner’s position prohibits a commissioner from holding paid positions in the private sector.

In making the announcement Tuesday, Baker said Nunnelly will be taking over a new agency that will deliver a top priority for his administration: beefed up information technology that will give the state the ability to provide efficient and fiscally responsible services.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/11/15/baker-plan-would-have-let-tax-chief-sit-corporate-boards/egl7xUY6ilDxoBT5oSjKCJ/story.html

Senate blocked move ethicists found alarming

Baker sought law allowing tax chief on private boards
By Frank Phillips Globe Staff November 16, 2015

Governor Charlie Baker has sought a change in state law that would allow his revenue commissioner to be paid $300,000 a year to sit on two major corporate boards, a move that has alarmed ethics specialists who say such a policy change would undermine the tax agency’s integrity.

The governor wanted the Legislature to change a statutory restriction so that Commissioner Mark E. Nunnelly, a wealthy venture capitalist who has worked without a state salary since his appointment in March, could keep his positions on the boards of Dunkin’ Donuts and Genpact Limited, a Bermuda-based information technology services firm.

State law prohibits the commissioner from engaging in any outside business for profit, as a way to prevent private financial interests from influencing public decision-making. According to Baker aides, Nunnelly has been donating his board salaries to charity since his state appointment.

The governor’s proposal, never debated by lawmakers, was quietly slipped into a supplemental budget bill. It made its way through the House but was blocked in the Senate this fall.