The state Ethics Commission ruled unanimously this week that grants awarded to non-profit groups that ended up employing the spouses of DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty and DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis were a conflict of interest under state law, if they happened in the future.

The ruling, however, is not expected to delay a May 8 Senate vote on the nominees, according to a spokesperson for Senate Republican Leadership.

This prospective ruling by the Commission did not rule on the actual events that lead to Gov. Rendell giving the Senate more time to consider the nominations of McGinty and DiBerardinis last week, but offered an opinion on how such conflicts could be avoided in the future.

In the case of Secretary McGinty, a grant was given to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for a project involving the nutrient credit trading pilot project in the Conestoga River Watershed in Lancaster County, a small portion of which-- $3,747-- was paid to Dr. Karl Hausker, Secretary McGinty’s husband and an economist, for an economic analysis of the credit market.

Secretary DiBerardinis’ wife, Joan Reilly, runs a parks program for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which received $1.5 million to implement part of the TreeVitalize Program that encourages tree planting in the five-county Philadelphia area.

The Ethics Commission rulings are available online.

5/4/2007