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Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinionsort ascending Subject Question(s) Cross Reference RCW/WAC Reference
98-11
  • Conflict of Interest
  • Prospective Employment
  1. Can a state employee pursue prospective employment with an employer without violating the state's ethics law? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
 97-07 RCW 42.52.020
RCW 42.52.050
RCW 42.52.080
98-02
  • Post-State Employment
  1. How does the term “transaction involving the state” as defined in RCW 42.52.010(21)(a) apply to the Department of Ecology's (DOE) multi-step site sediment cleanup process? See Opinion
  2. How is “personal and substantial” involvement in a “transaction involving the state” determined? See Opinion
  3. May a former employee who participated in transactions involving the state assist a state agency as a contractor with regard to the same transactions? See Opinion
  4. What is the definition of “another person” as used in RCW 42.52.080(5) and does it apply to state agencies? See Opinion
  5. Do the restrictions in RCW 42.52.080 apply to situations that do not involve transactions with the state? See Opinion
 97-06
97-08 		RCW 42.52.080
97-08
  • Activities incompatible with public duties
  • Employment after public service
  1. Is it a violation of RCW 42.52.020 for a state officer or state employee, whose duties involve reviewing fuel tax returns, to send out a questionnaire to businesses that file fuel tax returns to see if there is a market for a post-state employment business assisting businesses in completing fuel tax returns? No / See Opinion
  2. Do the prohibitions on post-state employment in RCW 42.52.080 apply to self-employment after the termination of state service? Yes / See Opinion
  3. Do the limitations on post-state employment in RCW 42.52.080 prohibit a state employee, whose duties involve review of fuel tax returns, from setting up a business filling out fuel tax returns after terminating state service? Qualified No / See Opinion
 RCW 42.52.020
97-07
  • Employment after leaving public service
  • Contract; transaction involving the Confidential information
  1. After terminating employment with the state, may the director of a state agency accept employment from a person who entered into contracts with the director's agency? Yes / See Opinion
 RCW 42.52.080
97-06
  • Employment after leaving public service
  • Assisting in a transaction
  1. Does RCW 42.52.080(5) prohibit a former state employee from accepting employment assisting a person seeking a water right permit when the employee worked on the same permit application while employed by the state? Yes / See Opinion
 RCW 42.52.080
01-06
  • Confidential Information
  • Post-State Employment
  1. May a former Department of Ecology (Ecology) employee, who participated at various levels in selected parts of Ecology’s dangerous waste program permit at the Hanford Federal Facility (Hanford Site), assist a Department of Energy (DOE) contractor in its compliance with the Hanford Site dangerous waste permit? Perhaps / See Opinion
  2. May a former Ecology employee who participated in selected parts of Ecology’s dangerous waste program permit at the Hanford Site, share his or her discussions with an Assistant Attorney General (AAG) regarding the Hanford Site dangerous waste permit with a DOE contractor? No / See Opinion
 97-06
97-07
97-08
98-02 		RCW 42.52.050
RCW 42.52.080
01-01
  • Post-State Employment
  1. Can a former Director of the Department of Personnel (DOP) apply for, compete for, and complete consulting work for state agencies under an ongoing Consultant Request for Proposal program (Consultant RFP) that is administered by DOP, but was created and independently funded prior to the former Director's employment at DOP? Yes / See Opinion
  2. Can a former DOP Director provide human resource consulting services to state agencies, i.e., perform work that was similar in nature to the service provided by DOP to those state agencies? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
  3. Can a former Director of DOP apply for, participate in and, if selected, contract with state agencies under pre-qualified personnel investigator or human resources consultant lists that are maintained by the General Administration agency? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
 00-07 RCW 42.52.080
00-13
  • Employment after public service
  1. May a former state employee, who was as a 'project leader' with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, assist a new employer to complete the project under a new contract? Yes / See Opinion
 97-06
98-02 		RCW 42.52.080
00-07
  • Post-State employment
  1. Can a former state employee provide consulting services to his former state agency when the consulting services are similar to work previously performed under a grant that funded the former employee's state work? Yes / See Opinion
 RCW 42.52.080
00-02
  • Compensation for outside activities; employment after public service
  • Financial benefits on administered grant program
  1. Are there any circumstances under which a state employee may financially benefit or otherwise perform work, whether or not for compensation, on projects funded by a grant program the employee administers? No / See Opinion
  2. Can a state employee work or volunteer on projects that are funded from sources other than the state, or that are state-funded, but not within the official responsibilities of the employee? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
  3. Can a state employee form his or her own business and offer services to state agencies or other persons that are related to the work the employee performed in a previous state position, but unrelated to the employee's current state position? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
 97-03 RCW 42.52.120
RCW 42.52.080
00-01
  • Employment after public service
  • Ownership of stock
  1. Does a former state employee's ownership of stock in his or her post-state employer create a beneficial interest in that employer's contracts with the former employee's agency? Yes / See Opinion
  2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, does RCW 42.52.080(2) or any other provision of chapter 42.52 RCW prohibit the former employee from owning any of the company's stock during the two-year period following termination of the former employee's state service? No / See Opinion
  3. Does the answer to question 2 change if the former employee's interactions with the company included participation in the agency's decision to award contracts to the company? Yes / See Opinion
  4. If the answer to question 2 is yes, then would it be permissible for the company to provide stock options to the former employee, provided the former employee could not exercise the options within the two-year period following the termination of state service? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
  5. Are there any precautions a company can follow prior to and during the employment of a former state employee to assure compliance with RCW 42.52.080? Qualified Yes / See Opinion
 97-07
98-11 		RCW 42.52.080