WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

2425 Bristol Court SW– Conference Room 148 – Olympia, WA

 

September 9, 2011

Regular Meeting Minutes

 

 

A.   Preliminary Business

1.    Roll Call

The regular meeting of the Washington State Executive Ethics Board (EEB) was called to order by Chair Michael Connelly at 9:00 a.m.  In attendance were Vice Chair Williams and Member Lisa Marsh. Member Linnaea Jablonski was absent. Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Melanie de Leon, Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton, Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott and Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant. 

 

2.    Approval of Agenda

Melanie de Leon noted that the agenda had been revised to add a discussion regarding an Employment Security Department E-Learning question.

 

Motion 11-072 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board approves the September 9, 2011 agenda as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.    Approval of the July 8, 2011 Meeting Minutes

        

Motion 11-073 Moved by Vice Chair Williams, seconded by Member Marsh:

 

The Board approves the July 8, 2011 minutes as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.   Enforcement Matters

Stipulation

EEB Case No. 2010-077 (Hernandez)

Melanie de Leon briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of John Hernandez.  Mr. Hernandez agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52 when he used his state computer for personal benefit, did not work all of his contract hours and filed false hourly time sheets. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,000.

The Board deferred action until after closed session.

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case 2009--019 (Polsin) and EEB Case 2011-007 (Haight)

Melanie de Leon briefly summarized two Executive Director dismissals.

 

C.   Advisory Opinion Review and Discussion

AO 00-11 Use of State Facilities for Voluntary Benefits

Melanie de Leon summarized AO 00-11 Use of State Facilities for Voluntary Benefits, previously discussed at the May meeting.  The issue was “Does an employee violate RCW 42.52.160(1) by permitting a business to use state facilities to provide employees with information about insurance products that may quality for voluntary employee payroll deductions pursuant to RCW 41.04.020?”  While the opinion answered “no” there are currently 296 organizations of all types eligible for payroll deductions.  As a result, the proposed use of state facilities has become an opportunity for sales presentations, soliciting memberships or donations rather than education about payroll deduction and would result in a violation of RCW 42.52.160(1) as well as RCW 42.52.070.  Ms. de Leon added that the opinion should be repealed.

 

Barbara Dickson, Special Project Manager for AFLAC, was present and presented background on the company and what AFLAC provides to state employees.  She stated that representatives only make contact with agencies at the request of their employees and noted that AFLAC does not have a storefront for employees to walk into to sign up for benefits.

 

AO 03-02 Use of State Resources/Political Campaigns/Voters Pamphlet Statements 

Ms. de Leon briefly updated the Board on AO 03-02, which states that the Governor, when officially appointed to a statewide voter’s pamphlet committee, can use state resources to draft arguments that support or oppose a pending ballot initiative would not violate RCW 42.52.180, previously discussed at the May meeting.

 

Ms. de Leon reported that according to Jeff Even, Deputy Solicitor General, any elected official could be appointed to a committee to draft a pro or con argument on a pending ballot measure.  Since the Governor is not unique in that regard, she requested that the opinion either be expanded to include all state employees/officers who are in similar circumstances or retired as a well decided interpretation that no longer needs to be actively maintained and reviewed.

 

Member Marsh noted a small typo in the first sentence under “Question.” The Board expanded the opinion to include all elected officials.

 

Motion 11-074  Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board approves AO 03-02 Use of State Resources/Political Campaigns/Voters Pamphlet Statements, as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

D.   Policy Review

Melanie de Leon noted that staff has been working on a policy review project to ensure that agencies are aware of the safe harbor provision and that their approved policies are up-to-date. She briefly summarized policies submitted by the Department of Financial Institutions, Military Department, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Member Marsh requested that the Department of Financial Institutions include a bullet regarding personal use of social media under section 2 on page 3.

Motion 11-075 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board approves the following:

·         Department of Financial Institution’s Using Electronic Communication Systems policy as amended.

·         Military Department’s Social Media Policy as presented

·         Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Computer System Acceptable Use Policy as presented

·         Department of Veteran’s Affair’s Use of State Resources Policy and Ethical and Professional Standards of Conduct Policy as presented

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

E.   Board Discussion

Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton summarized a request by Attorney Robert Shirley to amend the minutes from the Board’s March 12, 2010 meeting.

Mr. Shirley was present and addressed the Board stating that the minutes as written contained three errors:

·         His client, Mr. Jorgensen did not submit a letter requesting reconsideration of a prior decision, he filed an appeal;

·         His client, Mr. Jorgensen did not request reconsideration; he filed an appeal of a prior decision made by the Executive Director;

·         The Board did not “take no action” as the minutes reflect.

He requested that the Board correct the minutes from the March 12, 2010 meeting.

There was no motion to amend the March 12, 2010 meeting minutes and the matter died.

F.    Discussion regarding Employment Security Department (ESD) e-learning   

Melanie de Leon reported that ESD would like to have some of their IT staff trained on a computer program that will be replacing their current tax collecting program, however the number of ESD employees needing to be trained does not meet the minimum number of participants needed for discounted training rates. ESD would like to allow the vendor trainer to provide on-site training at an ESD location for their employees using an ESD terminal while at the same time transmitting a live broadcast of the on-site training to the vendor’s office in Bellevue where non-state employees will be viewing the broadcast via the vendor’s server. 

Member Marsh recused herself from any action on the matter, but will participate in discussion.

The Board concluded that allowing the vendor to broadcast the on-site training was de minimis and noted that guidelines should be in place to avoid marketing.

G.   Staff Reports

1.  Executive Director’s Report

Melanie de Leon reported that investigator interviews will be scheduled within the next few weeks and an intern is starting on October 3rd to assist with the performance measure report required by the Legislature.  She also noted that staff moved from the Capitol Court building to Bristol Court. 

 

2.  AAG Report

No AAG reports were given.

 

3.  Other Staff Reports

No staff reports were given.

 

H.   Public Comment/Board Member Comment

Rob Kavanaugh commented that he has been working closely with Representative Miloscia regarding legislation and added that staff does not have the resources necessary to meet workload demands.

Chair Connelly noted that his term expires at the end of September. He thanked staff for their professionalism and hard work.  He thanked the members for their dedication and thoughtfulness and added that he has enjoyed working with everyone.

I.      Executive/Closed Session

At 10:15 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session to discuss potential litigation, immediately followed by Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters. 

At 11:25 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 11-076 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Order in EEB Case #2010-077, John Hernandez, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 11-077 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2010-004, Susan Drake.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 11-078 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2011-002, Dacia Stricklett.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 11-079 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board dismisses EEB Case #2011-008, Paula Hammond et. al.

 

Voting For:  Vice Chair Williams, Member Marsh

Voting Against: Chair Connelly

 

The motion passed.

 

Motion 11-080 Moved by Member Marsh, seconded by Vice Chair Williams:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2011-015, Belinda Stewart.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

J.    Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 11/18/11