WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

2425 Bristol Court SW– 1st Floor Conference Room 148 – Olympia, WA

 

March 13, 2009

Regular Meeting Minutes

 

 

A.   Preliminary Business

1.    Roll Call

The regular meeting of the Washington State Executive Ethics Board (EEB) was called to order by Chair Neil Gorrell at 9:00 a.m.  In attendance were Vice Chair Linnaea Jablonski, Members Golberg, Connelly and Biegelman.  Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Melanie de Leon, Senior Counsel Jerry Anderson, Assistant Attorney General Mickey Newberry, Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant, and Investigators Nancy Lewin and Sue Jones. 

 

2.    Approval of Agenda

 

Motion 09-012 Moved by Member Golberg, seconded by Vice Chair Jablonski:

 

The Board approves the March 13, 2009 agenda as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.    Approval of the February 13, 2009 Meeting Minutes

        

Motion 09-013 Moved by Vice Chair Jablonski, seconded by Member Biegelman:

 

The Board approves the February 13, 2009 minutes as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.    Rule Making – Draft amendments to WAC 292-110-010 Use of state                      resources

The Board discussed the proposed draft language to amend WAC 292-110-010 Use of state resources.

Gladys Burbank, Washington Federation of State Employees, applauded the final version of the rule and commended the Board for listening to constituent concerns.

 

Ms. de Leon noted that if approved, the language will be provided to the Code Reviser, and a public hearing will be scheduled.

 

Motion 09-014 Moved by Member Connelly, seconded by Member Biegelman:

 

The Board approves language for WAC 292-110-010 Use of state resources as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

C.   Enforcement Matters

            Executive Director Dismissal – EEB Case #08-138 (Keller)

            Melanie de Leon briefly summarized an Executive Director dismissal.

           

D.   Policy Review

Ms. de Leon provided a draft policy submitted by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission regarding Park Housing and introduced Melanie Watness. Ms. Watness explained that the policy implements legislation regarding private businesses in Parks housing.

The Board requested changing the last sentence of paragraph one on page four to read “Additional space will not be assigned or granted to accommodate approved private business activity.”

 

Motion 09-015 Moved by Member Connelly, seconded by Vice Chair Jablonski:

 

The Board approves Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Park Housing policy as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

E.   Legislation

Melanie de Leon reported on Legislation that may have an impact on the Ethics in Public Service Act and provided an update on bills that have moved out of their house of origin. 

 

F.    Advisory Opinion Review

Nancy Lewin provided a list of Advisory Opinion (AO) topics by category and discussed AO 96-1; 00-05; and 01-07 which address what agencies can do with funds received from non-state entities. Ms. Lewin reported that the Ethics in Public Service Act, RCW 42.52, applies to individual state officers and employees, not to agencies. As a result, the Board has held the opinion that gifts given to the state or a state agency are not subject to the gift limitations found in RCW 42.52.140. However, a conflict has been created between the Advisory Opinions that staff is asking the Board to clarify.

 

Following discussion, the Board requested a legal analysis on the definition of jurisdiction for presentation at the April 10th meeting.

 

G.   Staff Reports

1.  Executive Director’s Report

Melanie de Leon reported that staff will be moving to the Capitol Court building in downtown Olympia in May.  She updated the Board on the development of an interactive Ethics training program noting that the launch date is currently set for June 29th. She reported that more than $10,000 in outstanding penalties has been collected to date.

 

She also provided the Board with Members’ Conduct Policies and Procedures for review. The Board reviewed the policies and no amendments were requested.

 

2.  AAG Report

AAG Mickey Newberry provided a brief update on current cases.

 

3.  Other Staff Reports

Nancy Lewin recognized her co-worker for receiving an Excellence Award for her performance over the past evaluation period.

 

H.   Public Comment/Board Member Comment

Melanie Watness thanked Melanie de Leon for traveling to Fort Warden on three occasions to train Parks and Recreation Commission staff.

 

I.      Closed Session

At 10:20 a.m. Chair Gorrell noted there were no executive session items and the Board moved into Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters. 

      At 10:50 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 09-016 Moved by Member Connelly, seconded by Member Biegelman:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #06-049, Michele Johnson.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

 

 

I.   Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 10:53 a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 4/10/09