WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

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

May 13, 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 9:02 a.m.  In attendance were Vice Chair Simmons and Member Lisa Marsh. Member Ladenburg arrived at 9:30 a.m. Member Sumeer Singla was absent. Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Kate Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott, Investigator David Killeen and Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant.

 

2.     Approval of Agenda

Ruthann Bryant noted the addition of an Executive Director Dismissal under Enforcement Matters.

 

Motion 16-027 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:

 

The Board approves the May 13, 2016 agenda as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.     Approval of the March 18, 2016 Meeting Minutes

       

Motion 16-028 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:  

 

The Board approves the March 18, 2016 minutes as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.    Enforcement Matters

Stipulations

EEB Case No. 2014-041 (Stewart)

David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Denise Stewart. Ms. Stewart agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by taking time off from work without submitting the proper leave slips. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $3,000 with $1,500 suspended.

 

EEB Case No. 2014-059 (Rodgers)

David Killeen also briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Steven Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.020 and .070 in his efforts to influence the outcome of an internal investigation involving his son. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $1,500.

EEB Case No. 2016-014 (Freelan)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Stefan Freelan. Mr. Freelan agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.020, .030, .070 and .160 when he used computer resources to support his outside business, instructing ArcGis Training through a non-profit entity for his private personal benefit and for providing a special privilege to the non-profit.  In addition, Mr. Freelan used his state computer to store an extensive amount of personal files, including audio books, podcasts, music files, films, pictures, videos, games, audio files and personal documents. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $6,000 with $3,000 suspended.

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case No. 2014-094 (Williamson), EEB Case No. 2015-003 (Soto) and EEB Case No. 2015-046 (Templeton)

Kate Reynolds summarized three Executive Director Dismissals.

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

 

C.    Rule-Making Discussion

Kate Reynolds briefly discussed proposed rule amendments to WAC 292-130 Agency Organization – Public records and requested Board approval to file the CR-102 with the Code Reviser. 

 

Motion 16-029 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons: 

 

The Board approves filing the CR 102 on WAC 292-130 Agency Organization – Public Records and will hold a public hearing on July 8, 2016.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

D.    Advisory Opinion Review

Kate Reynolds continued with an Advisory Opinion (AO) review project and presented changes made to AO 04-02 Use of State Facilities to Support Private Commercial Advertising Activity as a follow up from the March meeting.

Motion 16-030 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Dudek Ross: 

 

The Board approves Advisory Opinion 04-02 Use of State Facilities to Support Private Commercial Advertising Activity as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

The Board also reviewed a group of AO’s regarding the Use of State Resources for political purposes.

Motion 16-031 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons: 

 

The Board approves updates to the following Advisory Opinions:

 

·       96-10 Use of employee mailing list by agency elected officer

·       99-01 Definition of legislative body/political activities

·       00-08 Use of state resources/political campaigns/officer or employee title

·       04-01 Use of agency websites to provide links to private web sties that advocate for or against ballot initiatives or political candidates

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-032 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Chair Dudek Ross: 

 

The Board approves updates to the following Advisory Opinions as amended:

 

·       02-04 Use of state facilities, including electronic mail, to distribute newspaper articles and editorial opinions

·       03-02 Use of state resources/political campaigns/voter pamphlet statements

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-033 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons: 

 

The Board requested changes to Advisory Opinion 04-01 Use of agency websites to provide links to private web sites that advocate for or against ballot initiatives or political candidates.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

As a follow up to a discussion at the March meeting regarding archiving retired advisory opinions, Ruthann Bryant provided the Board with sample language from the United States Department of Labor which has a disclaimer regarding archived documents. The Board discussed and agreed on similar language to add to their website.

E.    Policy Reviews

Ruthann Bryant reported on an Ethics policy from the Washington State Board of Accountancy and noted that the policy establishes an ethics compliance committee within the agency. She added that it is consistent with the Ethics Act and recommended approval.

Motion 16-034 Moved by Vice Chair Simmons, seconded by Member Marsh: 

 

The Board approves the Washington State Board of Accountancy’s Ethics policy as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Kate Reynolds reported on a Conflict of Interest/Department Services policy submitted by the Department of Labor and Industries. She reported that the policy covers a broad range of ethical issues, some of which are stricter than the Ethics in Public Service Act.

 

Motion 16-035 Moved by Vice Chair Simmons, seconded by Member Marsh: 

 

The Board approves the Department of Labor and Industries policy as presented and noted that the Board does not have the authority to enforce sections of the policy that are stricter than the Ethics Act.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

         

F.    Staff Reports

Kate Reynolds introduced new investigator Dan Davis, who will start on June 6, 2016.  Dan provided some background of experience and noted that is retiring from the Tacoma Police Department after 32 years. He expressed his appreciation and excitement to begin work with the Board.  

 

Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott reported that the penalties for violation of the Open Public Meetings Act were recently updated.

G.   Public Comment/Board Member Comment

Dixie Shaw, ethics advisor for the Department of Labor and Industries, requested clarification on sections of their approved policy.

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 10:04 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 16-036 Moved by Vice Chair Simmons, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order in the following cases:

 

·       EEB Case No. 2014-041 (Stewart)

·       EEB Case No. 2014-059 (Rodgers)

·       EEB Case No. 2016-014 (Freelan)

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-037 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Ladenburg:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case No. 2014-085 Rob Fitch.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 16-038 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Member Ladenburg:

 

The Board holds the Motion for Default in EEB Case 2014-095 Cheri Carter for Declaration clarification and update.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

I.       Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 7/8/16