WASHINGTON STATE

EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

2425 Bristol Court SW– 4^th Floor Conference Room – Olympia, WA

September 12, 2014

Regular Meeting Minutes

A. Preliminary Business

1. Roll Call

The regular meeting of the Washington State Executive Ethics Board (Board) was called to order by Chair Lisa Marsh at 9:00 a.m. In attendance were Members Matthew Williams, Samantha Simmons and Sumeer Singla. Vice Chair Anna Dudek Ross was present via telephone. Board staff in attendance included: Executive Director Kate Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott, Assistant Attorney General Chad Standifer, Investigator David Killeen and Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant.

2. Approval of Agenda

Chair Marsh amended the agenda to include a closed session following the Brad Owen enforcement matter for deliberations.

Motion 14-042 Moved by Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Williams:

The Board approves the September 12, 2014 agenda, as amended.

The motion passed unanimously.

3. Approval of the July 11, 2014 Meeting Minutes

Motion 14-043 Moved by Member Williams, seconded by Member Simmons:

The Board approves the July 11, 2014 minutes as presented.

The motion passed unanimously.

B. Enforcement Matters

Stipulations

EEB Case 2012-055 (Owen)

Chad Standifer briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Brad Owen. Mr. Owen agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.020, .030, .070 and .160 when used public resources including staff time and state time to support Strategies For Youth, a non-profit organization that he established in 1989 and for which he served as the Registered Agent and the President/Chairman.

The stipulation proposes a penalty of $15,000 with $5,000 suspended.

The Board went into closed session at 9:07 a.m. and returned to open session at 9:18 a.m. and reported the following:

Motion 14-044 Moved by Member Singla, seconded by Member Williams:

The Board accepts the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Order in EEB Case 2012-055, Brad Owen, as presented.

The motion passed unanimously.

EEB Case No. 2013-048 (Reed)

David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Wilbur Reed. Mr. Reed agreed that he may have RCW 42.52.160 when he used state resources for his personal benefit by making a purchase for a ticket for air travel over the internet and by using his state email for personal purposes. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $500 with $250 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2013-049 (Brown)

Mr. Killeen also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Joseph Brown. Mr. Brown agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.150 and .160, when he used state resources for his personal benefit and accepted a gift of more than $50 from a vendor. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,500 with $750 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2014-005 (Graves)

David Killeen briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of David Graves. Mr. Graves agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using state internet access for his personal benefit and allowing other employees he supervises to use state resources for their personal benefit. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,250 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2014-006 (Standish)

David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Dan Standish. Mr. Standish agreed that he may have RCW 42.52.160 when he used state resources for his personal benefit, averaging over 1,000 minutes per month browsing the internet. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000.

EEB Case No. 2014-009 (Messenger)

Mr. Killeen also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of April Messenger. Ms. Messenger agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160, when she used a state vehicle for her personal benefit. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $3,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2014-014 (Ross)

David Killeen briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Peter Ross. Mr. Ross agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using state resources for his personal benefit including promoting his outside business. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $3,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2014-015 (Georgick)

David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Tamara Georgick. Ms. Georgick agreed that she may have RCW 42.52.160 when she used state resources for her personal benefit and to support a non-profit organization. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $3,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2017-028 (Cretu)

Mr. Killeen also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Ovidiu Cretu. Mr. Cretu agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160, when he used state internet access for his personal benefit including promoting his book. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $3,000 with $1,000 suspended.

The Board deferred action on the above stipulations until after their Closed session.

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case No. 2014-007 (Juvrud), EEB Case No. 2014-017 (Goetz), EEB Case 2014-018 (Blum), EEB Case No. 2014-019 (Shay), EEB Case No. 2014-048 (Inslee) and EEB Case No. 2014-049 (Buckles)

Ruthann Bryant summarized six Executive Director Dismissals.

C. Policy Reviews

Ruthann Bryant reported on an Employee Use of Electronic Communication Systems Policy submitted by the Department of Transportation (WSDOT). She noted that the policy was approved by the Board at their March meeting and WSDOT has since incorporated new language regarding the use of social media, use of network resources and employee-owned electronic communication systems.

Motion 14-045 Moved by Member Singla, seconded by Member Williams:

The Board approves the Department of Transportation’s Employee Use of Electronic Communication Systems as presented.

The motion passed unanimously.

Ruthann Bryant also reported on an Ethics policy submitted by the Department of Licensing. She noted that on page three, section 10, the policy states that a person “who retaliates against an employee who reports an ethics violation may receive a fine from an Ethics board of up to $5,000” however, it has not been determined that an Ethics Board would be conducting retaliation investigations. After discussion, the Board amended the language in section 10 to read “An individual who retaliates against an employee who reports an ethics violation may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000” as written in statute.

Motion 14-046 Moved by Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Williams:

The Board approves the Department of Licensing’s Ethics policy as amended.

The motion passed unanimously.

Ms. Bryant also reported on the Department of Licensing’s Soliciting Contributions in the Workplace policy. Chair Marsh expressed concern with non-CFD activities only being permitted outside work areas and hours. It was also noted that section 10 of this policy should be amended with the same language as the Ethics policy.

The Board requested that the Department of Licensing work with staff on the requested changes and bring the policy to the November meeting.

Motion 14-047 Moved by Member Singla, seconded by Chair Marsh:

The Board does not approve the Department of Licensing’s Soliciting Contributions in the Workplace at this time.

The motion passed unanimously.

D. Staff Reports

1. Executive Director’s Report

Kate Reynolds summarized her background with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. She commended David and Ruthann for their hard work over the last four months and added that she is very excited to be working with the Board.

2. AAG Report

Bruce Turcott provided training to the Board on the Open Public Meetings Act.

3. Other Staff Reports

Ruthann Bryant expressed her gratitude to Lisa and David for always being available and supportive throughout the last few months and she welcomed Kate to the team. She reported that although this was technically Member Williams’ last meeting, he could remain on the Board until a new member is appointed. She thanked him for his service on the Board and presented him with letters of appreciation from Governor Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

E. Public Comment/Board Member Comment

No public or Board member comments were given.

F. Executive/Closed Session

At 10:00 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session, immediately followed by Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters.

At 10:39 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

Motion 14-048 Moved by Member Singla, seconded by Chair Marsh:

The Board accepts the following Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders as presented:

· EEB Case No. 2013-048 Wilbur Reed

· EEB Case No. 2013-049 Joseph Brown

· EEB Case No. 2014-005 David Graves

· EEB Case No. 2014-006 Dan Standish

· EEB Case No. 2014-009 April Messenger

· EEB Case No. 2014-014 Peter Ross

· EEB Case No. 2014-015 Tamara Georgick

· EEB Case No. 2014-028 Ovidiu Cretu

The motion passed unanimously.

Motion 14-049 Moved by Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Singla:

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case No. 2014-022 Max Horn and EEB Case No. 2014-035 Thomas Lowry.

The motion passed unanimously.

Motion 14-050 Moved by Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Williams:

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case No. 2014-023 Leslie Mills.

Voting For: Chair Marsh, Vice Chair Dudek-Ross, and Members Williams and Simmons.

Not Voting: Member Singla.

The motion passed.

Motion 14-051 Moved by Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Williams:

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case No. 2014-047 Chris Voigt and updates the Board Determination to incorporate new email evidence.

The motion passed unanimously.

G. Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.

Approved by the Board 9/12/14