BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the delegation of authority by the chief of the Washington state patrol; and amending RCW 43.43.020, 43.43.040, 43.43.060, 43.43.070, 43.43.080, 43.43.090, 43.43.100, 43.43.370, 43.43.550, 43.43.650, and 43.43.710.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 43.43.020 and 1983 c 144 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint the chief of the Washington state patrol, determine his or her compensation, and may remove him or her at will.

The chief shall appoint a sufficient number of competent persons to act as Washington state patrol officers, may remove them for cause, as provided in this chapter, and shall make promotional appointments, determine their compensation, and define their rank and duties, as hereinafter provided.

The chief may appoint employees of the Washington state patrol to serve as special deputies, with such restricted police authority as the chief shall designate as being necessary and consistent with their assignment to duty. Such appointment and conferral of authority shall not qualify ((~~said~~)) the employees for membership in the Washington state patrol retirement system, nor shall it grant tenure of office as a regular officer of the Washington state patrol.

The chief may personally appoint, with the consent of the state treasurer, employees of the office of the state treasurer who are qualified under the standards of the criminal justice training commission, or who have comparable training and experience, to serve as special deputies. The law enforcement powers of any special deputies appointed in the office of the state treasurer shall be designated by the chief and shall be restricted to those powers necessary to provide for state-wide security of the holdings or property of or under the custody of the office of the state treasurer. These appointments may be revoked by the chief at any time and shall be revoked upon the written request of the state treasurer or by operation of law upon termination of the special deputy's employment with the office of the state treasurer or thirty days after the chief who made the appointment leaves office. The chief shall be civilly immune for the acts of ((~~such~~)) special deputies. ((~~Such~~)) The appointment and conferral of authority shall not qualify ((~~such~~)) the employees for membership in the Washington state patrol retirement system, nor shall it grant tenure of office as a regular officer of the Washington state patrol.

The chief of the Washington state patrol may delegate a power or duty vested in or transferred to the chief by law, or executive order, to an assistant or subordinate based upon the needs of the patrol, as determined by the chief; but the chief is responsible for the official acts of the officers and employees of the Washington state patrol.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.43.040 and 1987 c 185 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee shall relieve from active duty Washington state patrol officers who, while in the performance of their official duties, or while on standby or available for duty, have been or hereafter may be injured or incapacitated to such an extent as to be mentally or physically incapable of active service: PROVIDED, That:

(a) Any officer disabled while performing line duty who is found by the chief or the chief's designee to be physically incapacitated shall be placed on disability leave for a period not to exceed six months from the date of injury or the date incapacitated. During this period, the officer shall be entitled to all pay, benefits, insurance, leave, and retirement contributions awarded to an officer on active status, less any compensation received through the department of labor and industries. No such disability leave shall be approved until an officer has been unavailable for duty for more than five consecutive work days. Prior to the end of the six-month period, the chief or the chief's designee shall either place the officer on disability status or return the officer to active status.

For the purposes of this section, "line duty" is active service ((~~which~~)) that encompasses either the traffic law enforcement duties ((~~and/or~~)) or other law enforcement responsibilities, or both, of the state patrol. These activities encompass all enforcement practices of the laws, accident and criminal investigations, or actions requiring physical exertion or exposure to hazardous elements.

The chief shall define by rule the situations where a disability has occurred during line duty;

(b) Benefits under this section for a disability that is incurred while in other employment will be reduced by any amount the officer receives or is entitled to receive from workers' compensation, social security, group insurance, other pension plan, or any other similar source provided by another employer on account of the same disability;

(c) An officer injured while engaged in wilfully tortious or criminal conduct shall not be entitled to disability benefits under this section; and

(d) Should a disability beneficiary whose disability was not incurred in line of duty, prior to attaining age fifty, engage in a gainful occupation, the chief or the chief's designee shall reduce the amount of his or her retirement allowance to an amount which when added to the compensation earned by him or her in such occupation shall not exceed the basic salary currently being paid for the rank the retired officer held at the time he or she was disabled. All such disability beneficiaries under age fifty shall file with the chief every six months a signed and sworn statement of earnings and any person who shall knowingly swear falsely on such statement shall be subject to prosecution for perjury. Should the earning capacity of such beneficiary be further altered, the chief or the chief's designee may further alter his or her disability retirement allowance as indicated above. The failure of any officer to file the required statement of earnings shall be cause for cancellation of retirement benefits.

(2) Officers on disability status shall receive one-half of their compensation at the existing wage, during the time the disability continues in effect, less any compensation received through the department of labor and industries. They shall be subject to mental or physical examination at any state institution or otherwise under the direction of the chief of the patrol or the chief's designee at any time during such relief from duty to ascertain whether or not they are able to resume active duty.

Sec. 3. RCW 43.43.060 and 1984 c 141 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee may suspend or demote any officer with probationary status, without preferring charges against the officer, and without a hearing.

Sec. 4. RCW 43.43.070 and 1984 c 141 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Discharge of any officer with probationary status and discharge, demotion, or suspension of any officer with nonprobationary status shall be only for cause, which shall be clearly stated in a written complaint, sworn to by the person preferring the charges, and served upon the officer complained of.

Upon being so served, any such officer shall be entitled to a public hearing before a trial board consisting of two Washington state patrol officers of the rank of captain, and one officer of equal rank with the officer complained of, who shall be selected by the chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee by lot from the roster of the patrol. In the case of complaint by an officer, such officer shall not be a member of the trial board.

Sec. 5. RCW 43.43.080 and 1989 c 28 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

When the complaint served upon an officer is of a criminal nature calling for the discharge of the officer, the chief of the patrol or the chief's designee may immediately suspend the officer without pay pending a trial board hearing. The board shall be convened no later than forty-five days from the date of suspension. However, this does not preclude the granting of a mutually agreed upon extension; in such cases the officer shall remain on suspension without pay.

An officer complained of may waive a hearing and accept the proposed discipline by written notice to the chief of the patrol.

Sec. 6. RCW 43.43.090 and 1989 c 28 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

At the hearing, an administrative law judge appointed under chapter 34.12 RCW shall be the presiding officer, and shall make all necessary rulings in the course of the hearing, but shall not be entitled to vote.

The complainant and the officer complained of may submit evidence, and be represented by counsel, and a full and complete record of the proceedings, and all testimony, shall be taken down by a stenographer.

After hearing, the findings of the trial board shall be submitted to the chief or the chief's designee. Such findings shall be final if the charges are not sustained. In the event the charges are sustained, the chief or the chief's designee may determine the proper disciplinary action and declare it by written order served upon the officer complained of.

Sec. 7. RCW 43.43.100 and 1984 c 141 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

Any officer subjected to disciplinary action may, within ten days after the service of the order upon the officer, apply to the superior court of Thurston county for a writ of review to have the reasonableness and lawfulness of the order inquired into and determined.

The superior court shall review the determination of the chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee in a summary manner, based upon the record of the hearing before the trial board, and shall render its decision within ninety days, either affirming or reversing the order of the chief or the chief's designee, or remanding the matter to the chief or the chief's designee for further action. A transcript of the trial board hearing shall be provided to the court by the state patrol after being paid for by the officer subjected to disciplinary action. However, if the officer prevails before the court, the state patrol shall reimburse the officer for the cost of the transcript.

Sec. 8. RCW 43.43.370 and 1965 c 8 s 43.43.370 are each amended to read as follows:

The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee may appoint such staff or technical officers as he or she deems necessary for the efficient operation of the patrol, and he or she may assign whatever rank he or she deems necessary to such staff or technical officers for the duration of their service as such.

Staff or technical officers may be returned to their line rank or position whenever the chief or the chief's designee so desires. Staff or technical officers without line command assignment and whose duties are of a special or technical nature shall hold their staff or technical rank on a continuing probationary basis; however, such staff or technical officers, if otherwise eligible, shall not be prevented from taking the line promotion examinations, and qualifying for promotion whenever the examinations may be held.

If a staff or technical officer returns to line operations he or she shall return in the rank that he or she holds in the line command, unless promoted to a higher rank through examination and appointment as ((~~herein~~)) provided((~~: PROVIDED,~~)) in this section. However, nothing contained ((~~herein~~)) in this section shall be construed as giving the chief or the chief's designee the right to demote or to reduce the rank of any officer of the patrol who was holding such office on April 1, 1949.

Sec. 9. RCW 43.43.550 and 1984 c 217 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee shall designate twenty-four or more officers as traffic safety education officers. The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee shall make the designations in a manner designed to ensure that the programs under subsection (2) of this section are reasonably available in all areas of the state.

(2) The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee may permit these traffic safety education officers to appear in their off-duty hours in uniform to give programs in schools or the community on the duties of the state patrol, traffic safety, or crime prevention.

(3) The traffic safety education officers may accept such pay and reimbursement of expenses as are approved by the state patrol from the sponsoring organization.

(4) The state patrol is encouraged to work with community organizations to set up these programs state-wide.

Sec. 10. RCW 43.43.650 and 1970 ex.s. c 63 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee may employ such criminalists, chemists, clerical and other personnel as are necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the drug control assistance unit.

Sec. 11. RCW 43.43.710 and 1995 c 369 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:

Information contained in the files and records of the section relative to the commission of any crime by any person shall be considered privileged and shall not be made public or disclosed for any personal purpose or in any civil court proceedings except upon a written order of the judge of a court wherein such civil proceedings are had. All information contained in the files of the section relative to criminal records and personal histories of persons arrested for the commission of a crime shall be available to all criminal justice agencies upon the filing of an application as provided in RCW 43.43.705.

Although no application for information has been made to the section as provided in RCW 43.43.705, the section may transmit such information in the chief's or the chief's designee's discretion, to such agencies as are authorized by RCW 43.43.705 to make application for it.