WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

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

March 18, 2016

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 Anna Dudek Ross at 9:00 a.m.  In attendance were Vice Chair Simmons and Members Lisa Marsh, Sumeer Singla and John Ladenburg. Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Kate Reynolds, Investigator David Killeen and Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant.

 

2.     Approval of Agenda

Ruthann Bryant noted the addition of a stipulated agreement under Enforcement Matters.

 

Motion 16-017 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Ladenburg:

 

The Board approves the March 18, 2016 agenda as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.     Approval of the January 15, 2016 Meeting Minutes

       

Motion 16-018 Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:  

 

The Board approves the January 15, 2016 minutes as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.    Enforcement Matters

Stipulation

EEB Case No. 2014-078

David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Barry Moore. Dr. Moore agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52 when he participated in selling/renting scuba equipment to his students that were enrolled in classes in which he was the lead instructor, stored scuba equipment on state property and used state resources to promote and sell/rent scuba equipment for his outside business. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $3,000 with $1,000 suspended.

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case No. 2014-073 (Selix), EEB Case No. 2014-077 (Kerns), EEB Case No. 2014-081 (Coursey), EEB Case No. 2015-043 (Bronkema), EEB Case No. 2015-044 (Quirin), EEB Case No. 2015-045 (Zeth), EEB Case No. 2015-047 (Mason) and EEB Case No. 2015-048 (MacNeil)

Kate Reynolds summarized eight Executive Director Dismissals.

The Board deferred action on the enforcement matters until after their closed session.

 

C.    Rule-Making Discussion

Kate Reynolds introduced proposed rule amendments to WAC 292-130 Agency Organization – Public records and requested Board approval to begin the rule-making process and file the CR-101 with the Code Reviser. 

 

Motion 16-019 Moved by Member Singla, seconded by Member Ladenburg: 

 

The Board approves filing the CR 101 to begin rule-making on WAC 292-130 Agency Organization – Public Records.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

D.    Advisory Opinion Review

Kate Reynolds reported on an Advisory Opinion (AO) review project and presented a group of AOs related to the Use of State Resources for the Board’s review. The Board approved a group of AO’s to incorporate small changes in accordance with the new Use of State Resources WAC which becomes effective on April 1, 2016.

Motion 16-020 Moved by Member Singla, seconded by Member Marsh: 

 

The Board approves updates to the following Advisory Opinions:

 

·       96-03 Wellness Program

·       99-02 Operating a non-profit within an agency

·       00-09 Combined fund drive activities

·       00-10 Emails

·       02-01 Use of state facilities to conduct union business

·       02-02A Use of state resources-general board advice

·       03-01 Accessing state retirement account/state provided benefits, as amended

·       03-03 Frequent flyer miles, as amended

·       03-04 Selling complimentary text books

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

E.    Policy Review

Ruthann Bryant reported on a Use of State Resources policy from the Department of Corrections. She noted that the policy is consistent with the Ethics Act and recent amendments to the corresponding rule and recommended approval.

Member Marsh thanked the Department of Corrections for a well written policy and being ahead of the game given the new rule requirement.

Motion 16-021 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Singla: 

 

The Board approves the Department of Correction’s Use of State Resources policy as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

F.    Staff Reports

Kate Reynolds provided an update on the search for a new investigator and noted that the Annual Report will be completed and posted soon.  

G.   Public Comment/Board Member Comment

Lynn Hendrickson, Ethics Advisor for the Board for Industrial Insurance Appeals, commented that she would appreciate having old advisory opinions listed on an archive page for historical purposes.

H.    Executive/Closed Session

At 9:37 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session, immediately followed by Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters. 

At 10:21 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 16-022 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Ladenburg:

 

The Board modified the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2014-078 Barry Moore and reduced the penalty to $1,500 with $500 suspended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-023 Moved by Vice Chair Simmons, seconded by Member Singla:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case No. 2014-064 Sarah Barron.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-024 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Simmons:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case No. 2014-042 Christine Shriner.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-025 Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Member Singla:

 

The Board issues a Final Order in EEB Case No. 2014-076 Antoinette Bates.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-026 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Ladenburg:

 

The Board issues a Final Order in EEB Case No. 2014-080 Nora Dudley.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

I.       Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 10:29 a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 5/13/16