| 1996 Advisory Opinions |
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Advisory Opinion |
Subject |
Question |
RCW and /
or WAC |
Cross
Reference |
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• Gifts
• Agency
• Section 4 employee
• Payments for educational programs
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1. RCW 42.52.140-.150 restrict the gifts that can be received by state officers and state employees. Does a regulatory agency violate these limitations if it receives a gift from a person it regulates, to be used to off-set the cost of training agency officers and employees?
No / See Opinion
2. Does a state officer or state employee who attends agency training violate RCW 42.52.150(4)(g)(ii) if the source of the funds used to pay for the training is a gift to the regulatory agency by a person who is regulated by the agency?
No / See Opinion
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• Gifts
• Agency
• Section 4 employee
• Unsolicited refreshments
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RCW 42.52.140-.150 restrict the gifts that can be received by state officers and state employees. Does a state officer or state employee violate these limitations if he/she accepts unsolicited token refreshment items of nominal value which are offered as a gesture of common courtesy from a regulated business while performing official activities at their place of business?
No / See Opinion
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• State Employees
• De minimis use of state resources
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RCW 42.52.160 prohibits use of state resources for the private benefit or gain of a state officer, state employee, or another. Is the de minimis use of staff time and resources to support recreational activities as part of an agency wellness program a violation?
No / See Opinion
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• State Employees
• De minimis use of state resources
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1. RCW 42.52.160 prohibits use of state resources for private benefit or gain. Does a state officer or employee violate this limitation if he/she receives and makes telephone calls during office hours about the vanpool in which he/she participates?
See Opinion
2. Does a state officer or state employee violate RCW 42.52.160 by using electronic mail to send a brief message to all employees announcing the birth of an employee/co-worker's child?
Probably No / See Opinion
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• Gifts
• Agency
• Section 4 employee
• Limitations on gifts
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1. Does a state agency that only performs ministerial acts fall within the definition of regulatory agency in RCW 42.52.010(13)?
See Opinion
2. Does a state agency that performs both ministerial and regulatory acts fall within the definition of regulatory agency in RCW 42.52.010(13)?
See Opinion
3. If a regulatory agency performs some functions that are regulatory and some that are not, who is subject to the more stringent limitations on the receipt of gifts in RCW 42.52.150(4)?
See Opinion
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• Gifts
• Agency
• Section 4 employee
• Hosted reception
• Acceptance of food & beverage
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1. Can officers and employees of a state regulatory agency accept food and beverage from persons when they do not participate in regulatory or contractual matters with those persons?
See Opinion
2. What is the definition of hosted reception under RCW 42.52.150(4)(e)?
See Opinion
3. Does the limitation on the acceptance of food and beverage in RCW 42.52.150(4) apply to food and beverage provided by an association which is composed of members who are regulated by the agency or who seek to provide goods or services to the agency?
See Opinion
4. Can a state officer or employee accept food and beverage which they receive as part of training paid for by the state?
See Opinion
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Can a state officer or employee with specialized knowledge accept employment as an expert witness?
See Opinion
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• Definition of state officer and state employee
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Do state officers and employees ever lose their identity or does their status as state officers and employees apply only during normal working hours or when they are performing their state duties at times not considered normal working hours?
No / See Opinion
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• Boards and Commissions
• Disclosure requirement
• Voting abstention requirements
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Can a state board whose members are required by statute to be appointed from identified groups adopt rules that require members to disclose their interests and abstain from voting on certain matters as a way of addressing ethical prohibitions in the law?
Yes / See Opinion
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Model Rules were approved and may be adapted to a board or commissions particular need.
See Opinion
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• Elected Officials
• Facilities of an agency
• Normal and regular conduct
• Employee mailing list
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Is it a violation of RCW 42.52.180(1) for a statewide elected official, who is running for re-election, to use the agency's list of employee home addresses to send agency employees a letter, paid for with campaign funds, explaining the elected official's policies in response to a letter to agency employees from another candidate for the same office?
No / See Opinion
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• De minimis use of state resources
• Charity
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1. May state officers or employees use state resources to coordinate state-wide volunteer construction projects?
No / See Opinion
2. May state officers or employees use state resources to coordinate an occasional fund-
raising activity for charity?
Yes / See Opinion
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• Gifts
• Food & beverages
• Community or civic event
• Hosted reception
• Inaugural ball
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May state elected officials, state officers and employees accept food and beverage at an inaugural ball and inaugural dinner sponsored by a community or civic organization?
Yes / See Opinion
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