Pellegrino v. Rhode Island Ethics Commission

OPINION

A state statute provided for certain public officials, who were formerly members of a state governmental agency, to receive a designated compensation for attending agency meetings during a specific period. *1121Can the agency and the defendant state treasurer invoke sovereign immunity to fend off the public officials’ attempt to obtain a declaratory judgment concerning their alleged right to recover the statutory compensation due to them for attending these meetings? Because the state has waived its sovereign immunity by enacting a statute providing for the compensation in question and…