(1) When a member of the board of registration for professional engineers and land surveyors (board) is beneficially interested, directly or indirectly, in a contract, sale, lease, purchase or grant that may be made by, through, or is under the supervision of the board in whole or in part, or when the member accepts, directly or indirectly, any compensation, gratuity, or reward from any other person beneficially interested in such contract, sale, lease, purchase or grant, the member must:

(a) Exclude ((him or herself))themselves from the board discussion regarding the specific contract, sale, lease, purchase or grant;

(b) Exclude ((him or herself))themselves from the board vote on the specific contract, sale, lease, purchase or grant; and

(c) Refrain from attempting to influence the remaining board members in their discussion and vote regarding the specific contract, sale, lease, purchase or grant.

(2) The prohibition against discussion set forth in sections (a) and (c) may not prohibit the member of the board from using ((his or her))their general expertise to educate and provide general information on the subject area to the other members.

(1) When a member of the board of registration for professional engineers and land surveyors (Board) either owns a beneficial interest in or is an officer, agent, employee or member of an entity or individual, which is subject to a board action, the member must:

(a) Recuse ((him or herself))themselves from the board discussion regarding the specific action;

(b) Recuse ((him or herself))themselves from the board vote on the specific action; and

(c) Refrain from attempting to influence the remaining board members in their discussion and vote regarding the specific action.

(2) The prohibition against discussion and voting set forth in sections (a) and (c) may not prohibit the member of the board from using ((his or her))their general expertise to educate and provide general information on the subject area to the other members.

(3) "Board action" may include any of the following:

(a) An investigation or adjudicative proceeding;

(b) Application or submission;

(c) Request for a ruling or other determination decision, finding, ruling, or order; or

(d) Monetary grant, payment, or award.

If exclusion or recusal occurs pursuant to WAC 196-09-130 or 196-09-131, the member of the board should disclose to the public the reasons for ((his or her))their exclusion or recusal from any board action whenever it occurs. The board staff should record each instance of exclusion or recusal and the basis for it in the minutes of the board meetings.

All public records of the board are available for public inspection and copying pursuant to these rules and applicable state law (chapter 42.56 RCW), as follows:

(1) Inspection of records. Public records are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours of the office of the Washington state board of registration for professional engineers and land surveyors. Records may be inspected at the board's office when the requestor has been notified of the availability of the requested documents and an appointment is made with the public records officer.

(2) Records index. An index of public records, consisting of the retention schedules applicable to those records, is available to members of the public at the board's office.

(3) Organization of records. The board maintains its records in a reasonably organized manner. The board will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization. A requestor shall not take original records from the board's office. A variety of records are also available on the board's website at https://brpels.wa.gov/. Requestors are encouraged to view the documents available on the website prior to submitting a public records request.

(4) Making a request for public records.

(a) Any person wishing to inspect or obtain copies of public records should make the request using the board's public records request form available on the board's website or in writing by letter or email addressed to the public records officer. Written request must include the following information:

(i) Date of the request.

(ii) Name of the requestor.

(iii) Address of the requestor and other contact information, including telephone number and any email addresses.

(iv) Clear identification of the public records requested to permit the public records officer or designee to identify and locate the records.

(b) The public records officer may also accept requests for public records by telephone or in person. If the public records officer or designee accepts an oral or telephone request, ((he or she))they will confirm receipt of the request and the details of the records requested, in writing, to the requestor.

(c) If the requests received in (a) or (b) of this subsection are not sufficiently clear to permit the public records officer to identify the specific records requested, the public records officer will request clarification from the requestor in writing.

(d) If the requestor wishes to have copies of the records made instead of simply inspecting them, ((he or she))they should make that preference clear in the request. Copies will be made by the board's public records officer or designee.

(e) When fulfilling public records requests, the board will perform its public records responsibilities in the most expeditious manner consistent with the board's need to fulfill its other essential functions.

(f) By law, certain records and/or specific content of any specific record or document may not be subject to public disclosure. Accordingly, a reasonable time period may occur between the date of the request and the ability of the public records officer to identify, locate, retrieve, remove content not subject to disclosure, prepare a redaction log that includes the specific exemption, a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the records or portion of the records being withheld, and produce the records for inspection and/or copying. The requestor will be kept informed of the expected delivery timetable.

(g) If the request includes a large number of records, the production of the records for the requestor may occur in installments. The requestor will be informed, in writing, of the board's anticipated installment delivery timetable.

(h) In certain instances, the board may notify affected third parties to whom the record relates. This notice allows the affected third party to seek an injunction within ((fifteen))15 days from the date of the written notice. The notice further provides that release of the records to the requestor will be honored unless timely injunctive relief is obtained by the affected third party on or before the end of the ((fifteen))15-day period.

(i) Requests for lists of credentialed individuals by educational organizations and professional associations: In order to obtain a list of individuals under the provisions of RCW 42.56.070(8), educational organizations and professional associations must provide sufficient information to satisfy the board that the requested list of individuals is primarily for educational and professionally related uses.

Board forms are available on the board's website or upon request.

All individuals licensed in accordance with chapter 18.43 RCW must utilize a seal/stamp that conforms to the design as authorized by the board. It is the responsibility of the licensee to maintain control over the use of ((his/her))their stamp/seal. The impression or image of the seal/stamp must conform to the below-illustrated design and be of a size that assures full legibility of the following required information:

(1) State of Washington;

(2) Registered professional engineer or registered professional land surveyor;

(3) Certificate number;

(4) Licensee's name as shown on wall certificate.

Only professional engineers who have completed the state of Washington's requirements for licensure in structural engineering are permitted to use the title of S.E. when representing ((his or her))their licensing credential, as in, James Smith, P.E., S.E. Use of the title S.E. by any individual who is not licensed in structural engineering as provided in chapter 18.43 RCW, is subject to disciplinary action by the board in accordance with chapter 18.43 RCW and/or chapter 18.235 RCW.

All individuals licensed in accordance with chapter 18.210 RCW shall procure a seal/stamp that conforms to the design as authorized by the board. It is the responsibility of the licensee to maintain control over the use of ((his/her))their stamp/seal. The impression or image of the seal/stamp shall conform to the below-illustrated design and be of a size that assures full legibility of the following required information:

(1) State of Washington;

(2) Licensed on-site wastewater treatment system designer;

(3) License number;

(4) Licensee's name as shown on license.

The board believes that designers under provisions of chapter 18.210 RCW should have the discretion to make independent choices on what activities help them to be improved practitioners. The board will not provide advance approvals for selected activities or vendors. The board expects designers to seek out qualifying activities that can be demonstrated to the board as relevant to ((his or her))their professional development as a designer.