WASHINGTON STATE
EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD
1110 Capitol Way S– 4th
Floor Video Conference Room – Olympia, WA
May 13, 2011
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 Michael Connelly at 9:00 a.m. In attendance were Vice Chair Williams and Members
Linnaea Jablonski and Lisa Marsh. Board staff in attendance included: Executive Director Melanie de Leon, Assistant
Attorney General Bruce Turcott, Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant and Investigator
Sue Jones.
2. Approval of Agenda
Motion 11-011 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Vice Chair Williams:
The Board approves the May
13, 2011 agenda as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. Approval of the March 11, 2011 Meeting Minutes
Motion 11-012 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Vice Chair Williams:
The Board approves the March 11, 2011 minutes as presented.
Voting
for: Connelly, Williams and Jablonski.
Not voting: Marsh
The motion passed.
B. Enforcement Matters
Stipulation
EEB Case No. 2010-061 (Hepler)
Sue Jones briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order
in the matter of Shelley Hepler. Ms. Hepler
agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160 when she used state resources
for personal benefit. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,500.
The Board deferred action until after closed session.
Executive Director
Dismissal
EEB Case 2010-058
(Keifert)
Melanie
de Leon briefly summarized an Executive Director dismissal.
C. Advisory Opinion Review
AO 00-11 Use of State Facilities for
Voluntary Benefits
Melanie
de Leon summarized the history of using state facilities by “vendors” who
provide services to state employees. The AO allows agencies to permit business
that sell insurance under the payroll deduction statute to use state facilities
to provide information about their products.
She noted that this opinion has always been interpreted to allow only
AFLAC and Colonial Life to make presentation in state facilities. However, there are currently 296 businesses
that are on the payroll deduction list.
Ms.
de Leon requested that the Board review the opinion to ensure it remains
current, and if so, whether the ability to present information in a state
facility must be expanded to include every organization on the approved payroll
deduction list.
Following
discussion, the Board requested that Ms. de Leon review the analysis and
41.04.020 RCW with board counsel and draft an opinion for a future meeting.
AO 03-02 Use of State
Resources/Political Campaigns/Voters Pamphlet Statements
The
Board also discussed AO 03-02, which states that the Governor, when officially
appointed to a statewide voter’s pamphlet committee, using state resources to
draft arguments that support or oppose a pending ballot initiative would not
violate RCW 42.52.180.
Ms.
de Leon questioned whether the opinion should it be updated and expanded to
include all state employees/officers who are in similar circumstances.
The
Board asked that staff research if there are other elected officials that the
opinion would apply to and bring the matter to a future meeting for further
discussion.
D. Policy Review
Melanie
de Leon briefly summarized a draft Department of Personnel Ethics Policy which
will be used as a template by small agencies that receive human resource
services from the Department of Personnel.
Motion 11-059 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board approves the Department
of Personnel’s Small Agency Model Ethics Policy as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
E. Legislative Update
Ms.
de Leon discussed current Legislation that may have an affect on the Board and
42.52 RCW. She added that HB 1179 has
been signed by the Governor. The new law, which becomes effective July 22,
2011, allows state employees to attend informational or educational meetings,
in state facilities, regarding legislative issues with a legislator or other
elected official.
F. Strategic Plan
Ms.
de Leon began preparation for the new Strategic Plan. She briefly discussed the
current plan as well as the performance measure report submitted to the Legislature
at the end of 2010. The Board will be
working on the Strategic Plan at their retreat in July.
G. Staff Reports
1. Executive Director’s Report
Melanie de Leon discussed options for all electronic
meetings. She also reported that she has
been working with the Public Disclosure Commission, the Legislative Ethics
Board and the Commission on Judicial Conduct on the feasibility of elected
officials creating Legal Defense Funds.
2. AAG Report
No AAG reports were given.
3. Other Staff Reports
No staff reports were given.
H. Public Comment/Board Member Comment
Lynn
Hendrickson, Board for Industrial Insurance Appeals, suggested talking with the
Department of Personnel to add an ethics question to the state employee survey
they will be conducting in the fall.
Chair
Connelly personally thanked Board staff for their hard work, dedication and
professionalism.
I. Closed Session
At
9:45 a.m. the Board moved into Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial
matters.
At 10:00 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported
the following:
Motion 11-060 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Member Marsh:
The Board accepts the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Order in EEB Case #2010-061, Shelley Hepler
as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 11-061 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Member Marsh:
The Board dismisses EEB
Case #2011-009 Philip Anderson, Ed Clausing, Don Budd and Jeff Tayer.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 11-062 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Vice Chair Williams:
The Board issues a final
Oder and Judgment in EEB Case #09-012, Paula Canfield and imposes a penalty of
$1,000.
The motion passed unanimously.
J. Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment
There
being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 10:01 a.m.
Approved by the Board 7/8/11