BILL REQ. #: S-1728.1
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 03/05/03.
AN ACT Relating to the Washington state tourism center; amending RCW 42.52.150; adding a new section to chapter 42.52 RCW; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) National and international tourism is a growing sector that can
provide Washington residents with jobs and local communities with
needed revenues;
(b) Contacts made through national and international tourism
activities may yield future benefits in terms of future national and
international investments in the state;
(c) Current efforts to promote national and international tourism
are too diffuse to yield significant benefits; and
(d) A collaborative effort among state and local governments,
tribes, and private enterprises can serve to leverage the investments
in national and international tourism and trade made by each.
(2) It is therefore the policy of the state to create a single
entity to be known as the Washington state tourism center to develop
new, and expand existing, opportunities for national and international
tourism and trade.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 There is created the Washington state
tourism center within the department of community, trade, and economic
development. As used in this chapter, "center" means the Washington
state tourism center.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 The center shall:
(1) Provide targeted assistance to national and international
tourism-related businesses, including:
(a) Promotion of Washington state as a tourism destination; and
(b) Market research and planning information;
(2) Provide information to tourism businesses on the availability
and benefits of national and international tourism opportunities;
(3) Undertake and participate in marketing promotions to achieve
expanded national and international tourism;
(4) Coordinate with local tourism development efforts to maximize
benefits; and
(5) Develop an annual work plan. The plan shall describe actions
and recommendations for developing markets for national and
international tourism and related trade activities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 To carry out its responsibilities under this
chapter, the center may:
(1) Receive such gifts, grants, funds, fees, and endowments, in
trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the center. The center
may expend the same or any income therefrom according to the terms of
the gifts, grants, or endowments;
(2) Initiate, conduct, or contract for studies and searches
relating to national and international tourism;
(3) Obtain and disseminate information relating to market
development for national and international tourism from other state and
local agencies;
(4) Enter into, amend, and terminate contracts with individuals,
corporations, trade associations, and research institutions for the
purposes of this chapter;
(5) Provide business and marketing assistance to public and private
sector entities within the state; and
(6) Evaluate, analyze, and make recommendations on state policies
that may affect markets for national and international tourism.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 The center shall solicit financial
contributions and support from tourism-related industries and other
private sector sources, foundations, tribal governments and
enterprises, and grants from governmental sources to assist in
conducting its activities. It may also use separately appropriated
funds of the department of community, trade, and economic development
for the center's activities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 Local governments may divert a portion of
the revenue collected under local sales and use taxes on the sale of
lodging to the center.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 42.52 RCW
to read as follows:
When soliciting charitable gifts, grants, or donations solely for
the Washington state tourism center, state officers and state employees
are presumed not to be in violation of the solicitation and receipt of
gift provisions in RCW 42.52.140.
Sec. 8 RCW 42.52.150 and 1998 c 7 s 2 are each amended to read as
follows:
(1) No state officer or state employee may accept gifts, other than
those specified in subsections (2) and (5) of this section, with an
aggregate value in excess of fifty dollars from a single source in a
calendar year or a single gift from multiple sources with a value in
excess of fifty dollars. For purposes of this section, "single source"
means any person, as defined in RCW 42.52.010, whether acting directly
or through any agent or other intermediary, and "single gift" includes
any event, item, or group of items used in conjunction with each other
or any trip including transportation, lodging, and attendant costs, not
excluded from the definition of gift under RCW 42.52.010. The value of
gifts given to an officer's or employee's family member or guest shall
be attributed to the official or employee for the purpose of
determining whether the limit has been exceeded, unless an independent
business, family, or social relationship exists between the donor and
the family member or guest.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the
following items are presumed not to influence under RCW 42.52.140, and
may be accepted without regard to the limit established by subsection
(1) of this section:
(a) Unsolicited flowers, plants, and floral arrangements;
(b) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal value,
such as pens and note pads;
(c) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a
plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;
(d) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state employee
for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or employee has
no personal beneficial interest in the eventual use or acquisition of
the item by the officer's or employee's agency;
(e) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions related
to the recipient's performance of official duties;
(f) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where
attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's
official duties;
(g) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real or
personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and
solicited for the Washington state tourism center;
(h) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages consumed at,
events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable,
governmental, or community organization; and
(((h))) (i) Unsolicited gifts from dignitaries from another state
or a foreign country that are intended to be personal in nature.
(3) The presumption in subsection (2) of this section is rebuttable
and may be overcome based on the circumstances surrounding the giving
and acceptance of the item.
(4) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (5) of this section, a
state officer or state employee of a regulatory agency or of an agency
that seeks to acquire goods or services who participates in those
regulatory or contractual matters may receive, accept, take, or seek,
directly or indirectly, only the following items from a person
regulated by the agency or from a person who seeks to provide goods or
services to the agency:
(a) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal value,
such as pens and note pads;
(b) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a
plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;
(c) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state employee
for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or employee has
no personal beneficial interest in the eventual use or acquisition of
the item by the officer's or employee's agency;
(d) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions related
to the recipient's performance of official duties;
(e) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where
attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's
official duties;
(f) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages consumed at,
events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable,
governmental, or community organization; and
(g) Those items excluded from the definition of gift in RCW
42.52.010 except:
(i) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, presentation,
appearance, or trade mission made in an official capacity;
(ii) Payments for seminars and educational programs sponsored by a
bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, educational, trade,
or charitable association or institution; and
(iii) Flowers, plants, and floral arrangements.
(5) A state officer or state employee may accept gifts in the form
of food and beverage on infrequent occasions in the ordinary course of
meals where attendance by the officer or employee is related to the
performance of official duties. Gifts in the form of food and beverage
that exceed fifty dollars on a single occasion shall be reported as
provided in chapter 42.17 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title