WASHINGTON STATE
EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD
2425 Bristol Court SW– 4th
Floor Conference Room – Olympia, WA
September 8, 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 Member John Ladenburg at 9:00 a.m. In attendance were Members Lisa Marsh and
Shirley Battan. Chair Anna Dudek Ross and Vice Chair Samantha Simmons were 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
Motion 17-036 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Battan:
The Board approves the September
8, 2017 agenda as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. Approval of the July 14, 2017 Meeting Minutes
Motion 17-037 Moved by Member Battan,
seconded by Member Marsh:
The Board approves the July 14, 2017 minutes as 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.
Motion 17-038 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Battan:
The Board approves filing
the CR-102 on WAC 292-110 Agency Substantive Rules.
The motion passed unanimously.
Kate Reynolds also briefly discussed proposed amendments to WAC
292-100 Procedural Rules. She reported that recent legislation amended the Public
Records Act and the amendments are to bring our rules in line with that
legislation. She requested Board approval to file the CR-101 with the Code
Reviser.
Motion 17-039 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Battan:
The Board approves filing
the CR 101 on WAC 292-100 Procedural Rules.
The motion passed unanimously.
C. Enforcement Matters
Stipulations
EEB Case No. 2016-051 (Mann)
Senior
Investigator David Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Ronda Mann. Ms.
Mann agreed that she may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by
taking time away from work without submitting the proper leave requests.
Evidence indicated that she received pay for at least 308 hours of time that
she was not at work and did not submit leave slips over a 5- month period. The
Stipulation imposes a penalty of $4,000 with $1,000 suspended.
EEB Case No. 2016-053
(Rogers)
Mr.
Killeen also briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the
matter of John Rogers. Mr. Rogers agreed
that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 when he used state resources for his
private benefit and gain by taking time off from work without submitting the
proper leave requests. He repaid his agency for that time. The Stipulation
imposes a penalty of $2,500.
EEB Case No. 2016-054
(Moses)
Mr.
Killeen briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Cassandra
Moses. Ms. Moses agreed that she may
have violated RCW 42.52.070 and .160 when she used state resources and her
position to obtain travel expenses from one of the residential treatment
providers to visit several of their treatment facilities after she was advised
by management that she could not visit as a DSHS representative. The
Stipulation imposes a penalty of $3,500 with $1,750 suspended.
EEB Case No. 2016-061
(Clark)
Mr.
Killeen also reported on a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of David
Clark. Mr. Clark may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when he
spent an excessive amount of time on the internet for non-work related use. The
Stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.
EEB Case No. 2016-072
(Austin)
Investigator
Dan Davis summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Katrina
Austin. Ms. Austin agreed that she may
have violated RCW 42.52.160 when she used a state vehicle for personal use on
two separate occasions. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000
suspended.
EEB Case No. 2016-092
(Khaleghi)
David
Killeen summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Bijan
Khaleghi. Mr. Khaleghi may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when
he used state resources for his personal benefit and gain in support of his
outside employment as an adjunct faculty member of St. Martin’s University. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $4,500
with $2,500 suspended.
EEB Case No. 2017-012
(Robbins)
Mr.
Killeen also summarized a proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Gail
Robbins. Ms. Robbins may have violated
the Ethics in Public Service Act when she took time off from work without
submitting the proper leave slips and by allowing a subordinate to take time
off without requiring her to submit leave.
Evidence indicated that she received pay for at least 282 hours of time
she was not at work and did not submit leave slips over a 5-month period. The
stipulation proposes a penalty of $6,000 with $1,000 suspended.
Executive Director
Dismissals
EEB Case No. 2016-066
(Morris), EEB Case No. 2016-067 (Harper), EEB Case No. 2016-083 (Brinson), EEB
Case 2016-085 (Barrington), EEB Case 2017-008 (Beck), EEB Case No. 2017-013
(Sanchez), EEB Case No. 2017-016 (Kelly-Rae) and EEB Case No. 2017-027
(Gilbert).
Kate Reynolds summarized eight 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 opinion has been drafted in a manner that fits within WAC
292-110-010 Use of State Resources.
Member
Marsh requested that the Board table the discussion until the November meeting.
E. 2018 Meeting Dates
The
Board briefly discussed meeting dates for 2018. Following discussion, the Board
concluded that next year’s meeting dates will be determined based on the
majority of member availability. A list of dates will be shared as soon as they
are determined.
F. Staff Reports
Kate
Reynolds reported on the agency budget build and noted that the retreat is
currently scheduled to be held in January.
Ruthann
Bryant updated the Board on the debut of the new website. She added that
stakeholders are very pleased with the ease of navigation, the updated look and
the site overall.
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.
G. Executive/Closed Session
At 9:40
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 17-040 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Ladenburg:
The Board approves the following
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Orders as presented:
·
EEB Case 2016-051 Ronda Mann
·
EEB Case 2016-053 John
Rogers
·
EEB Case 2016-054 Cassandra
Moses
·
EEB Case 2016-061 David
Clark
·
EEB Case 2016-072 Katrina
Austin
·
EEB Case 2016-092 Bijan
Khaleghi
·
EEB Case 2017-012 Gail
Robbins
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 17-041 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Ladenburg:
The Board finds Reasonable
Cause over $500 in the following cases:
·
EEB Case 2017-005 Joel Berg
·
EEB Case 2017-015 Michelle Owen
·
EEB Case 2017-022 Stephen Goodman
·
EEB Case 2017-024 David Kopp
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 17-042 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Ladenburg:
The Board finds Reasonable
Cause less than $500 in EEB Case 2017-012 Kim Patten
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 17-043 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Ladenburg:
The Board finds no
Reasonable Cause in EEB Case 2017-014 Chris Martin.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 17-044: Moved by Member Ladenburg,
seconded by Member Marsh:
The Board Dismisses EEB Case
2017-012 Cynthia Beveridge as inadvertent and minor.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 17-045 Moved by Member Ladenburg,
seconded by Vice Chair Simmons:
The Board issues a Final
Order of Default in EEB Case 2015-055 Eugene Payne and imposes a penalty of
$2,000.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 17-046 Moved by Member Marsh,
seconded by Member Battan:
The Board issues Final
Orders of Default as presented in the following cases:
·
EEB Case 2015-078 Rebekah
Felitz
·
EEB Case 2015-081 Douglas
Popwell
The motion passed unanimously.
H. Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment
There
being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 11:05 a.m.
Approved by the Board 11/17/17