WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

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

July 14, 2017

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 9:03 a.m.  In attendance were Chair Anna Dudek Ross, Vice Chair Samantha Simmons and Members John Ladenburg and Lisa Marsh. Member Shirley Battan was absent. Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Kate Reynolds, Sr. Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott, Assistant Attorney General Chad Standifer, Investigators David Killeen and Dan Davis and Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant.

 

2.     Approval of Agenda

Ruthann Bryant noted that an additional stipulation was added to the agenda.

 

Motion 17-026 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:

 

The Board approves the July 14, 2017 agenda as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.     Approval of the May 12, 217 Meeting Minutes

       

Motion 17-027 Moved by Vice Chair Simmons, seconded by Member Ladenburg:  

 

The Board approves the May 12, 2017 minutes presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.    Rule Making

WAC 292-110 Agency Substantive Rules

Kate Reynolds briefly discussed draft amendments to WAC 292-110 Agency Substantive Rules and requested Board approval to file the CR-102 with the Code Reviser.

 

The Board requested clarification on measurable expenditures and will discuss the request again at their September meeting.

 

 

C.    Request for Advisory Opinion

As a follow up to previous meetings, Bruce Turcott again discussed a request from the Office of the Attorney General to consider drafting an Advisory Opinion (AO) on the acceptable use of state resources for sharing external information with employees when the information is intended to advance cultural competence in the workplace and the practice of law.  The question before them is whether or not it is permissible to use state resources, such as email and electronic bulletin boards, to notify employees of diversity events and trainings sponsored by outside organizations when there may be a fundraising component to the event.

The Board had requested that questions be added to AO 02-02A Use of State Resources Questions and Answers to address the questions brought by the Office of the Attorney General. Mr. Turcott presented the proposed amendments and requested approval of the revised AO.

Motion 17-028 Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons: 

 

The Board approves Advisory Opinion 02-02A Use of State Resources Questions and Answers as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

D.    Enforcement Matters

Stipulations

EEB Case No. 2015-052 (McRae)

Senior Investigator David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Christine McRae. Ms. McRae agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by taking personal time away from work without submitting the proper leave requests and by providing a special privilege to a subordinate to do the same. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $1,000.

EEB Case No. 2015-056 (Hughes)

Mr. Killeen also briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Christina Hughes. Ms. Hughes agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when she accepted a gift from an agency contracted vendor. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2015-061 (Barnes)

Mr. Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Deena Barnes. Ms.  Barnes agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160 when she used state resources to conduct work in support of her outside business and conducting outside business activities with a contracted vendor. The Stipulation imposes a penalty of $3,500 with $1,000 suspended.

 

EEB Case No. 2016-010 (Connell)

Investigator Dan Davis reported on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Patricia Connell. Ms. Connell agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using state resources for her private benefit and gain by using her state computer to send and receive personal emails. The Stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2016-015 (Leonard)

Mr. Davis also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Ryann Leonard.  Ms. Leonard agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.180 when she used the state email system in support of her political campaign. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2016-017 (Vermillion)

Dan Davis also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Nicole Vermillion.  Ms. Vermillion agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when she used state resources for her personal benefit. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,500 with $750 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2016-018 (Rule)

Dan Davis also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of David Rule.  Mr. Rule agreed that he may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when he engaged in activities incompatible with his public duties and received a special privilege when his spouse acted as an agent and received a sales commission in a real estate transaction involving one of his direct reports. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,500.

EEB Case No. 2016-044 (Farley)

Dan Davis also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Keith Farley.  Mr. Farley agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 and .070 when he continued to use parking privileges after stopping payroll deduction. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,500 with $750 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2016-049 (Firouzi)

David Killeen also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Al Firouzi.  Mr. Firouzi agreed that he may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for his private benefit and gain when he used a state ORCA card for his daily commute trips and on his days off. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $750.

EEB Case No. 2016-065 (Barrantes)

Mr. Killeen also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Kirbie Barrantes.  Mr. Barrantes agreed that he may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when he used state resources for his private benefit and gain in support of his outside business and a charitable organization he founded. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $4,500 with $2,000 suspended.

 

 

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case No. 2016-005 (Bowman), EEB Case No. 2016-045 (Sak), EEB Case No. 2015-050 (Rich), EEB Case No. 2016-064 (Ortiz), EEB Case No. 2016-084 (Schoonover), EEB Case No. 2017-004 (Joudrey) and EEB Case No. 2017-011 (Schooley).

Kate Reynolds summarized seven Executive Director Dismissals.

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

 

E.    Policy Reviews

Ruthann Bryant presented a Using Electronic Communication Systems policy submitted by the Department of Financial Institutions.  She reported that the policy was previously approved by the Board and has been amended to incorporate use of the statewide Guest WiFi and an appendix.  

 

Motion 17-029: Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:

 

The Board approves the Department of Financial Institution’s Using Electronic Communication Systems Policy as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

F.    Advisory Opinion Review

Kate Reynolds continued with the final two Advisory Opinions (AO) in the review project and presented changes made to AO 10-01 Use of Resources for Wellness Program and 10-02 Wearing Uniform at Charitable Events.

Member Marsh requested that staff work with the Washington State Patrol to either submit an organizational effectiveness policy for Board approval or amend the analysis section of the opinion.

Motion 17-030: Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons: 

 

The Board approves Advisory Opinion 10-01 Use of Resources for Wellness Program as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

G.   Staff Reports

Kate Reynolds reported on changes to the Public Records Act and noted that she will begin rule-making in the near future.

Ruthann Bryant updated the Board on the website redesign and added that the new website is scheduled to be revealed by the end of July.

Chad Standifer provided an update on cases currently scheduled for hearings before the Board.

Public Comment/Board Member Comment

No public or Board Member comments were noted.

H.    Executive/Closed Session

At 10:00 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session, immediately followed by Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters. 

At 11:15 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 17-031 Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board approves the following Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Orders as presented:

 

·       EEB Case 2015-052 Christine McRae

·       EEB Case 2015-056 Christina Hughes

·       EEB Case 2015-061 Deena Barnes

·       EEB Case 2016-010 Patricia Connell

·       EEB Case 2016-015 Ryann Leonard

·       EEB Case 2016-017 Nicole Vermillion

·       EEB Case 2016-018 David Rule

·       EEB Case 2016-044 Keith Farley

·       EEB Case 2016-049 Al Firouzi

·       EEB Case 2016-065 Kerbie Barrantes

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 17-032 Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause over $500 in the following cases:

 

·       EEB Case 2016-037 Kaitlin Torres

·       EEB Case 2016-043 Daniel Bauman

·       EEB Case 2016-058 Forrest Rodgers

·       EEB Case 2016-063 Paul Sanchez

·       EEB Case 2016-079 Vickie Kuchan

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 17-033: Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:

 

The Board Dismisses EEB Case 2016-077 Kristen Royal as unfounded.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Member Marsh noted that EEB Case 2017-018 was investigated by Member Ladenburg and no staff from the Office of the Attorney General or the Executive Ethics Board participated in the discussion or deliberation.

 

Motion 17-034: Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board finds no Reasonable Cause in EEB Case 2017-018 Evelyn Fielding Lopez.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 17-035 Moved by Member Ladenburg, seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:

 

The Board approves Motions for Default in the following cases:

 

·       EEB Case 2015-055 Eugene Payne

·       EEB Case 2015-078 Rebekah Felitz

·       EEB Case 2015-081 Douglas Popwell

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

I.       Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 11:17a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 9/8/17