WASHINGTON STATE
EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD
Via Zoom
May 13, 2022
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 Battan at 9:03 a.m. In attendance were Vice Chair Jan Jutte and Member
Earl Key. Member Gerri Davis was absent. Board staff in attendance
included: Executive Director Kate
Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General Leo Roinila, Senior Assistant Attorney
General Chad Standifer, Assistant Attorney General Julia Eisentrout, Administrative
Officer Ruthann Bryant and Investigators Bobby Frye and Justin Cotte.
2. Approval of Agenda
Motion 22-031 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Chair Battan:
The Board approved the May
13, 2022 agenda as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. Approval of the March 11, 2022 Meeting Minutes
Motion 22-032 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board approved the March 11, 2022 minutes as presented.
The motion passed
unanimously.
B. Enforcement Matters
Stipulations
EEB
Case 2021-015 (Au)
Senior Assistant Attorney General Chad
Standifer briefed the Board on a proposed Stipulation and Order in the matter
of Wayne Au, Professor with the School of educational Studies at the University
of Washington. Dr. Au agreed that he may have violated the Ethics in Public
Service Act by including a link to a book he authored in his official
University of Washington signature block.
The stipulation imposes a civil penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.
EEB Case 2021-026 (Marr)
Investigator Bobby
Frye briefed the Board on a proposed Stipulation and Order in the matter of Christopher
Marr, Correctional Sergeant at the Monroe Correctional Complex with the
Department of Corrections. Mr. Marr agreed that he may have violated the Ethics
in Public Service Act by using state resources for his private benefit or gain.
Evidence indicated that he used his state email for personal use and browsed
the internet for an average of just over two hours per shift over a 17-day
period. The stipulation imposes a civil penalty of $2,500.
EEB Case 2021-033 (Aw)
Bobby Frye also briefed
the Board on a proposed Stipulation and Order in the matter of Tar-Chee Aw, former
Director of the Fears Clinic within the School of Dentistry at the University
of Washington. Dr. Aw agreed that he may have violated the Ethics in Public
Service Act by using state resources for personal benefit and gain when he used
UW resources to perform outside work. Evidence indicated that he was paid
directly for services performed at the School of Dentistry and did not turn the
money over to the school. The stipulation imposes a civil penalty of $33,236.
EEB Case 2021-037 (Derrick)
Mr. Frye also
briefed the Board on a proposed Stipulation and Order in the matter of Pamela
Derrick, former IT Application Developer for the Department of Labor and
Industries. Ms. Derrick agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public
Service Act by using state resources to email information about a strike for
Walkout Wednesday regarding the Governor’s vaccine mandate. The stipulation
imposes a civil penalty of $750.
EEB Case 2021-048 (Bertsch)
Bobby Frye briefed
the Board on a proposed Stipulation and Order in the matter of Sean Bertsch, former
Corrections and Custody Officer with the Department of Corrections. Mr. Bertsch
agreed that he may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using
state resources for personal benefit and gain and accessing confidential
information for non-work related purposes. Evidence indicated that he sent over
30 emails containing well over 500 attachments to his personal email address,
many of which contained private information. The
stipulation imposes a civil penalty of $6,500.
EEB Case 2021-054 (Maxwell)
Mr. Frye also
briefed the Board on a proposed Stipulation and Order in the matter of Amanda
Maxwell, Executive Director and Secretary for the utilities and Transportation
Commission. Ms. Maxwell agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public
Service Act by authorizing an all staff email containing links to donate to the
American Civil Liberties Union. The stipulation
imposes a civil penalty of $1,000 with $250 suspended.
The Board deferred action on the enforcement matters until after
their closed session.
C. Rule-making
Executive Director Kate Reynolds reported on housekeeping
amendments to sections of WAC 202-100 Procedural Rules, WAC 292-110 Agency
Substantive Rules and WAC 292-130 Agency Organization—Public Records. Ms.
Reynolds noted that these amendments would also bring the sections up-to-date
on gender neutral terminology. If approved, staff would file a CR-105 for
expedited rule-making.
Motion 22-033 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Chair Battan:
The Board approved the
filing of a CR-105 Expedited Rule-making, as amended, for the following:
·
WAC 292-100
·
WAC 292-110
·
WAC 292-130
The motion passed
unanimously.
D. Advisory Opinion Review
Kate Reynolds reported on the continued Advisory Opinion (AO)
review project and presented the final AO to be reviewed regarding compensation
for official duties noting there were no changes to the opinion.
Motion 22-034 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Vice Chair Jutte:
The Board approved updates
to Advisory Opinion 02-12 Compensation for Performing Official Duties/Tips as
presented.
The motion passed
unanimously.
E. Policy Reviews
Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant presented
Clover Park Technical College’s Ethical Conduct policy. She noted that this
policy includes both the policy and procedures and was previously approved in
2017. Only header changes were made and staff recommended approval.
Motion 22-035 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board
approved Clover Park Technical College’s Ethical Conduct policy, as presented.
The motion passed
unanimously.
Ms. Bryant presented Community Colleges of
Spokane’s General Ethics for Employees and Officers policy. She noted that this
is the first time this policy has been before the Board.
The Board requested that staff work with the
College to expand on their “Organizational Effectiveness” section of the policy
and bring it back for review at a future meeting.
Ms. Bryant also reported on the Department of
Revenue’s Fundraising, Outside Activities and Political Activity policies. She
noted that all three had previously been approved by the Board and staff
recommended approval.
Motion 22-036 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board
approved the following Department of Revenue policies as presented:
·
Fundraising
·
Outside Activities
·
Political Activity
The motion passed
unanimously.
Ms. Bryant presented Washington’s Lottery’s
Code of Ethics policy. She noted that this policy was previously approved in
2018 and only some housekeeping and formatting changes have been made since
then. Staff recommended approval.
The Board requested that the Executive Ethics
Board be added as a source for employees to go to should they suspect an ethics
violation has occurred.
Motion 22-037 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board
approved Washington’s Lottery’s Code of Ethics policy, as amended.
The motion passed
unanimously.
F. Staff Reports
Executive
Director Kate Reynolds provided an update on the Open Public Meetings Act and
Public Records proclamations enacted by the Governor at the start of the
pandemic, noting that both would be expiring. Ms. Reynolds will be working on
what effect that may have on our July meeting and whether in person may be an
option.
No
other staff reports were given.
G. Public Comment/Board Member
Comment
No
public or Board member comments were given.
H. Closed Session
At 9:33
a.m. the Board moved into Closed Session.
At 10:31 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported
the following:
Motion 22-038 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board approved the Stipulated
Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order imposing a civil penalty of $2,000
with $1,000 suspended in EEB Case 2021-015 Wayne Au.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-039 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Vice Chair Jutte:
The Board approved the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order imposing a civil penalty
of $2,500 in EEB Case 2021-026 Christopher Marr.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-040 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board approved the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order imposing a civil penalty
of $33,236 in EEB Case 2021-033 Tar-Chee Aw.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-041 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board approved the Stipulated
Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order imposing a civil penalty of $750 in
EEB Case 2021-037 Pamela Derrick.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-042 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Chair Battan:
The Board approved the Stipulated
Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order imposing a civil penalty of $6,500
in EEB Case 2021-048 Sean Bertsch.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-043 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Vice Chair Jutte:
The Board approved the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order imposing a civil penalty
of $1,000 with $250 suspended in EEB Case 2021-054 Amanda Maxwell.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-044 Moved by Member Key,
seconded by Chair Battan:
The Board determined that the
complaint is obviously unfounded or frivolous and dismisses EEB Case 2021-052 Peter Mayer.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-045 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Chair Battan:
The Board determined that the
complaint is obviously unfounded or frivolous and dismisses EEB Case 2021-053 Amanda Varela.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-046 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board found Reasonable
Cause over $500 in EEB Case 2021-055 Jaye Bahre.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-047 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board found Reasonable
Cause over $500 in EEB Case 2021-056 James Harvey.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-048 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board determined that the
complaint is obviously unfounded or frivolous and dismisses EEB Case 2022-002 Melissa Lynch.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-049 Moved by Chair Battan,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board determined that the
complaint is obviously unfounded or frivolous and dismisses EEB Case 2022-003 Leah Coleman.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-050 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Chair Battan:
The Board found Reasonable
Cause under $500 in EEB Case 2022-004 Leigh Bacharach.
Voting For: Chair Battan
and Vice Chair Jutte.
Voting Against: Member Key.
The motion passed.
Motion 22-051 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board determined that any
violation that may have occurred does not constitute a material violation
because it was inadvertent and minor, or has been cured, and, after
consideration of all of the circumstances, further proceedings would not serve
the purposes of this chapter and dismisses EEB Case 2022-005 Katrina Engelund.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-052 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board determined that any
violation that may have occurred does not constitute a material violation
because it was inadvertent and minor, or has been cured, and, after
consideration of all of the circumstances, further proceedings would not serve
the purposes of this chapter and dismisses EEB Case 2022-006 Tamra Roloff.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 22-053 Moved by Vice Chair Jutte,
seconded by Member Key:
The Board determined that any
violation that may have occurred does not constitute a material violation
because it was inadvertent and minor, or has been cured, and, after
consideration of all of the circumstances, further proceedings would not serve
the purposes of this chapter and dismisses EEB Case 2022-007 Cody Olson.
The motion passed unanimously.
I. Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment
There
were no miscellaneous matters and the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
Approved by the Board 7/8/2022