BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to official travel by public officers and employees; amending RCW 42.52.010, 42.23.070, and 42.23.050; adding new sections to chapter 42.52 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the practice of some public officers and employees of using first class airplane accommodations or residing in luxury hotel facilities if traveling on public business is a wasteful use of public resources, or, if provided by private parties who have some interest in the official work of the officer or employee, is an improper gift. The legislature also finds that residual benefits provided by common carriers to travelers should properly accrue to the public employer and not the employee if the public has paid for the travel.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 42.52 RCW to read as follows:

Any state or local government officer, whether elected or appointed, and any state or local government employee who is required to travel in the discharge of the duties of his or her position or employment at public expense shall minimize travel expenses as follows: (1) If travel by commercial air carrier is required, it must be at the least-expensive fare available at the time; and (2) if overnight accommodation is required, it may not be in luxury or deluxe grade facilities if standard grade facilities are available in the same location.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 42.52 RCW to read as follows:

Any residual benefits provided by any common carrier, including benefits such as frequent flyer mileage credits, which accrue as a result of travel required in the discharge of the official duties of any state or local government officer or employee, shall accrue to the benefit of the government employer and not to the benefit of the individual officer or employee if the cost of such travel is at public expense. State and local government entities shall establish the necessary travel procedures and accounts to assure compliance with this section.

Sec. 4. RCW 42.52.010 and 1994 c 154 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Agency" means any state board, commission, bureau, committee, department, institution, division, or tribunal in the legislative, executive, or judicial branch of state government. "Agency" includes all elective offices, the state legislature, those institutions of higher education created and supported by the state government, and those courts that are parts of state government.

(2) "Head of agency" means the chief executive officer of an agency. In the case of an agency headed by a commission, board, committee, or other body consisting of more than one natural person, agency head means the person or board authorized to appoint agency employees and regulate their conduct.

(3) "Assist" means to act, or offer or agree to act, in such a way as to help, aid, advise, furnish information to, or otherwise provide assistance to another person, believing that the action is of help, aid, advice, or assistance to the person and with intent so to assist such person.

(4) "Beneficial interest" has the meaning ascribed to it under the Washington case law. However, an ownership interest in a mutual fund or similar investment pooling fund in which the owner has no management powers does not constitute a beneficial interest in the entities in which the fund or pool invests.

(5) "Compensation" means anything of economic value, however designated, that is paid, loaned, granted, or transferred, or to be paid, loaned, granted, or transferred for, or in consideration of, personal services to any person.

(6) "Confidential information" means (a) specific information, rather than generalized knowledge, that is not available to the general public on request or (b) information made confidential by law.

(7) "Ethics boards" means the commission on judicial conduct, the legislative ethics board, and the executive ethics board.

(8) "Family" has the same meaning as "immediate family" in RCW 42.17.020.

(9) "Gift" means anything of economic value for which no consideration is given. "Gift" does not include:

(a) Items from family members or friends where it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the gift was not made as part of any design to gain or maintain influence in the agency of which the recipient is an officer or employee;

(b) Items related to the outside business of the recipient that are customary and not related to the recipient's performance of official duties;

(c) Items exchanged among officials and employees or a social event hosted or sponsored by a state officer or state employee for coworkers;

(d) 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. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the day after the event but do not include first class air travel or deluxe or luxury lodging if standard lodging is available at the same location;

(e) Items a state officer or state employee is authorized by law to accept;

(f) Payment of enrollment and course fees and reasonable travel expenses attributable to attending seminars and educational programs sponsored by a bona fide nonprofit professional, educational, or trade association, or charitable institution. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the day after the event but do not include first class air travel or deluxe or luxury lodging if standard lodging is available at the same location;

(g) Items returned by the recipient to the donor within thirty days of receipt or donated to a charitable organization within thirty days of receipt;

(h) Campaign contributions reported under chapter 42.17 RCW; and

(i) Discounts available to an individual as a member of an employee group, occupation, or similar broad-based group.

(10) "Honorarium" means money or thing of value offered to a state officer or state employee for a speech, appearance, article, or similar item or activity in connection with the state officer's or state employee's official role.

(11) "Participate" means to participate in state action or a proceeding personally and substantially as a state officer or state employee, through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise but does not include preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation or the performance of legislative duties.

(12) "Person" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, firm, institution, or other entity, whether or not operated for profit.

(13) "Regulatory agency" means any state board, commission, department, or officer, except those in the legislative or judicial branches, authorized by law to conduct adjudicative proceedings, issue permits or licenses, or to control or affect interests of identified persons.

(14) "Responsibility" in connection with a transaction involving the state, means the direct administrative or operating authority, whether intermediate or final, and either exercisable alone or through subordinates, effectively to approve, disapprove, or otherwise direct state action in respect of such transaction.

(15) "State action" means any action on the part of an agency, including, but not limited to:

(a) A decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order; and

(b) A grant, payment, award, license, contract, transaction, sanction, or approval, or the denial thereof, or failure to act with respect to a decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order.

(16) "State officer" means every person holding a position of public trust in or under an executive, legislative, or judicial office of the state. "State officer" includes judges of the superior court, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the supreme court, members of the legislature together with the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives, holders of elective offices in the executive branch of state government, chief executive officers of state agencies, members of boards, commissions, or committees with authority over one or more state agencies or institutions, and employees of the state who are engaged in supervisory, policy-making, or policy-enforcing work. For the purposes of this chapter, "state officer" also includes any person exercising or undertaking to exercise the powers or functions of a state officer.

(17) "State employee" means an individual who is employed by an agency in any branch of state government. For purposes of this chapter, employees of the superior courts are not state officers or state employees.

(18) "Thing of economic value," in addition to its ordinary meaning, includes:

(a) A loan, property interest, interest in a contract or other chose in action, and employment or another arrangement involving a right to compensation;

(b) An option, irrespective of the conditions to the exercise of the option; and

(19)(a) "Transaction involving the state" means a proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, case, or other similar matter that the state officer, state employee, or former state officer or state employee in question believes, or has reason to believe:

(i) Is, or will be, the subject of state action; or

(ii) Is one to which the state is or will be a party; or

(iii) Is one in which the state has a direct and substantial proprietary interest.

(b) "Transaction involving the state" does not include the following: Preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation, including appropriation of moneys in a budget, or the performance of legislative duties by an officer or employee; or a claim, case, lawsuit, or similar matter if the officer or employee did not participate in the underlying transaction involving the state that is the basis for the claim, case, or lawsuit.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 42.52 RCW to read as follows:

A violation of section 2 or 3 of this act constitutes a violation of this chapter.

Sec. 6. RCW 42.23.070 and 1994 c 154 s 121 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) No municipal officer may use his or her position to secure special privileges or exemptions for himself, herself, or others.

(2) No municipal officer may, directly or indirectly, give or receive or agree to receive any compensation, gift, reward, or gratuity from a source except the employing municipality, for a matter connected with or related to the officer's services as such an officer unless otherwise provided for by law. Gifts prohibited by this subsection include first class air accommodations and luxury or deluxe lodgings if standard lodgings are available at the same location provided in conjunction with any official travel for trade missions, inspections, seminars, educational programs, meetings, or conferences.

(3) No municipal officer may accept employment or engage in business or professional activity that the officer might reasonably expect would require or induce him or her by reason of his or her official position to disclose confidential information acquired by reason of his or her official position.

(4) No municipal officer may disclose confidential information gained by reason of the officer's position, nor may the officer otherwise use such information for his or her personal gain or benefit.

Sec. 7. RCW 42.23.050 and 1961 c 268 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

Any contract made in violation of the provisions of this ((~~act~~)) chapter shall be void and the performance thereof, in full or in part, by a contracting party shall not be the basis of any claim against the municipality. Any officer violating the provisions of this ((~~act~~)) chapter shall be liable to the municipality of which he is an officer for a penalty in the amount of three hundred dollars, in addition to such other civil or criminal liability or penalty as may otherwise be imposed upon him by law.

In addition to all other penalties, civil or criminal, the violation by any officer of the provisions of this ((~~act~~)) chapter or of sections 2 or 3 of this act shall work a forfeiture of his office.