WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

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

May 11, 2018

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 John Ladenburg at 9:30 a.m.  In attendance were Vice Chair Shirley Battan and Members Lisa Marsh and Gerri Davis. Member Anna Dudek Ross was absent. Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Kate Reynolds, Sr. Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott, Assistant Attorney General Chad Standifer, Investigator David Killeen and Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant.

 

2.     Approval of Agenda

Chair Ladenburg noted that the Board was given a revised agenda.

 

Motion 18-011 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:

 

The Board approves the May 11, 2018 revised agenda as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.     Approval of the January 17, 2018 Meeting Minutes

       

Motion 18-012 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:  

 

The Board approves the January 17, 2018 minutes as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.    Rule-Making

WAC 292-130 Public Records

Ruthann Bryant presented proposed rule amendments to WAC 292-130 Public Records. She noted that the amendments reflect changes resulting from Legislation passed during the 2017 session and are modeled after the Office of the Attorney General’s recently adopted amendments. She added that upon approval by the Board, the amendments will be sent out for public and stakeholder comment. Ms. Bryant also noted that a fee schedule had been created and will be posted on the website once the process has been completed. 

 

Member Marsh commented that the fee schedule should cross-reference the Board’s rules.

 

WAC 292-110 Agency Substantive Rules

Ms. Bryant also discussed proposed rule amendments to WAC 292-110 Agency Substantive Rules and requested approval to file the CR-103p.

 

Motion 18-013 Moved by Vice Chair Battan, seconded by Chair Ladenburg: 

 

The Board approves the filing of the supplemental CR-103p on WAC 292-110 Agency Substantive Rules.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

C.    Enforcement Matters

Stipulations

EEB Case No. 2016-079 (Kuchan)

Senior Investigator David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Vicki Kuchan.  Ms. Kuchan agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when she used state resources for her private benefit and gain. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $1,000.

EEB Case No. 2017-015 (Owen)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Michelle Owen.  Ms. Owen agreed that she may have violated the Act when she failed to submit leave slips. Evidence indicated that Ms. Owen was late for work 204 days out of 211 days for a total of 9,599 minutes. Additionally, she failed to submit leave for 17 days she was not at work. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $3,500 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2017-017 (Smith)

Mr. Killeen also briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Valerie Smith.  Ms. Smith agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for her private benefit. Evidence showed she spent 93.5 hours browsing the internet for personal reasons over a ten-week period. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $3,000.

EEB Case No. 2017-046 (Ensley)

Mr. Killeen reported on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Robert Ensley. Mr. Ensley may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when he used state resources to conduct peer reviews for a federal contractor and received payment for both the peer reviews and his state salary. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $4,000 with $2,000 suspended.

 

EEB Case No. 2017-049 (Scherer)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Sarah Scherer.  Ms. Scherer agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when she allowed an employee to store and dock his personal boat on Seattle Maritime Academy property for an extended period of time. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $2,500.

EEB Case No. 2017-059 (Bustamante)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Krista Bustamante. Ms. Bustamante agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when she used her position to access a Department of Social and Health Services client case file in a computer system to obtain information on his current location and benefits he was receiving. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $1,500 with $750 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2017-062 (Ernie Sims)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Ernie Sims. Mr. Sims agreed that he may have violated the Act by receiving a special privilege from another employee when that employee issued a Commercial Driver Training Employer Certification to Mr. Sims’ son. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000.

EEB Case No. 2017-068 (Dalberg)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Heather Dalberg. Ms. Dalberg agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when she used Western Washington University’s Amazon Prime account to make personal purchases, used state resources in support of her private business and used state owned equipment for personal use. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $4,000 with $2,000 suspended.

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case No. 2017-052 (Narayan), EEB Case No. 2017-066 (Kendall), EEB Case No. 2017-072 (Dixon), EEB Case No. 2017-073 (Scourey), and EEB Case No. 2017-074 (Croyle).

Kate Reynolds summarized five Executive Director Dismissals.

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

 

D.    Advisory Opinion Review

Kate Reynolds continued with the final Advisory Opinion (AO) in the review project and presented changes made to AO 10-02 Wearing Uniform at Charitable Events. She reported that the language was drafted in a manner that fits within WAC 292-110-010 Use of State Resources.

Motion 18-014 Moved by Vice Chair Battan, seconded by Chair Ladenburg: 

 

The Board approves AO 10-02 Wearing Uniform at Charitable Events as amended.

 

Voting For:  Chair Ladenburg, Vice Chair Battan and Member Gerri Davis

Voting Against: Member Marsh.

 

The motion passed.

 

E.    Policy Reviews

Ruthann Bryant presented policies from the Department of Corrections, the Department of Licensing, the Lottery Commission, the Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Historical Society and recommended Board approval of each.

 

Motion 18-015: Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Member Davis:

 

The Board approves the following policies as presented:

·       Department of Corrections – Use of State Resources

·       Department of Licensing – Ethics – Complying with Ethics Requirements

·       Department of Licensing – Ethics – Soliciting and Receiving Charitable Contributions in the Workplace

·       Lottery – Code of Ethics

·       Department of Natural Resources – Ethics and Use of State Resources

·       Washington State Historical Society - Ethics

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

F.    Staff Reports

Kate Reynolds reported that a new investigator has been hired and will begin on May 16, 2018. His name is Bobby Frye and he comes to us from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and has a Washington State Patrol background.  She also discussed training and added that staff is piloting a webinar option with Bellevue College.

Ruthann Bryant reported that 23 cases have been forwarded to a collection agency and noted that the outstanding penalties total more than $50,000.

 

 

Public Comment/Board Member Comment

Nancy Williams from the Department of Licensing thanked the Board and staff for their assistance and approval of their policies.

Patrick Gosney with the Department of Corrections introduced himself and thanked staff for their assistance.

G.   Executive/Closed Session

At 10:04 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session, immediately followed by Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters. 

At 11:00 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 18-016 Moved by Vice Chair Battan, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2016-079 Vicki Kuchan, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-017 Moved by Vice Chair Battan, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-015 Michelle Owen, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-018 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-017 Valerie Smith, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-019 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-046 Robert Ensley, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

 

Motion 18-020 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-049 Sarah Scherer, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-021 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board rejects the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-059 Kristi Bustamante, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-022 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-062 Ernie Sims, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-023 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in EEB Case 2017-068 Heather Dalberg, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-024 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case 2016-042 Cheryl Adams and issued a Letter of Instruction.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-025 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2016-059 Queenie Baker.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-026 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-019 Demetria Batdorf.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-027 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-025 Ed Brimmer.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-028 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Davis:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-044 Michael Katze.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-029 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-048 Sean Baldeschwiler.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-030 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds No Reasonable Cause in EEB Case 2017-064 Lisa Brown.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-031 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-069 Lynne Lerych.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-032 Moved by Vice Chair Battan, seconded by Member Davis:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-070 Allison Criswell.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-033 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause Over $500 in EEB Case 2017-076 Babette Babich.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-034 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds No Reasonable Cause in EEB Case 2018-007 Dan Sharp.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 18-035 Moved by Chair Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Battan:

 

The Board issue a Final Order of Default in EEB Case 2015-049 Tommy Vu.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

H.    Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 7/13/18