S‑1478.1   _____________________________________________

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5556

           _____________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on State & Local Government (originally sponsored by Senators T. Sheldon, Prentice, Roach, Rasmussen, Franklin and McCaslin)

READ FIRST TIME 02/20/01. 

_1      AN ACT Relating to the use of public assets for political

_2  purposes; and amending RCW 42.17.128, 42.17.130, and 42.52.180.

_3  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_4      Sec. 1.  RCW 42.17.128 and 1993 c 2 s 24 are each amended to read

_5  as follows:

_6      Public funds, whether derived through taxes, fees, penalties,

_7  or any other sources, shall not be used to finance political

_8  campaigns for state or local office or for the promotion of or

_9  opposition to any ballot proposition.

10     Sec. 2.  RCW 42.17.130 and 1979 ex.s. c 265 s 2 are each amended

11  to read as follows:

12      (1) No elective official nor any employee of his or her office

13  nor any person appointed to or employed by any public office or

14  agency may use or authorize the use of any of the facilities of a

15  public office or agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose

16  of assisting a campaign for election of any person to any office

17  or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition.

                               p. 1                      SSB 5556

_1  Facilities of public office or agency include, but are not limited

_2  to, funds, use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment,

_3  use of employees of the office or agency during working hours,

_4  vehicles, office space, publications of the office or agency, and

_5  clientele lists of persons served by the office or

_6  agency:  PROVIDED, That the foregoing provisions of this section

_7  shall not apply to the following activities:

_8      (((1))) (a) Action taken at an open public meeting by members

_9  of an elected legislative body to express a collective decision,

10  or to actually vote upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or

11  ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot proposition so long as

12  (((a))) (i) any required notice of the meeting includes the title

13  and number of the ballot proposition, and (((b))) (ii) members of

14  the legislative body or members of the public are afforded an

15  approximately equal opportunity for the expression of an opposing

16  view;

17      (((2))) (b) A statement by an elected official in support of or

18  in opposition to any ballot proposition at an open press

19  conference or in response to a specific inquiry;

20      (((3))) (c) Activities which are part of the normal and regular

21  conduct of the office or agency.

22      (2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection an

23  association or nonprofit corporation that has a majority of

24  officers or members who are public officials and that derives more

25  than twenty-five percent of its income from dues, assessments, or

26  membership fees paid with public funds may not provide any

27  financial support or use of their facilities to a political

28  committee, to a candidate for public office, or to promote or

29  oppose a ballot proposition.

30      (b) The prohibitions in (a) of this subsection do not apply to

31  an action at an open public meeting to express a collective

32  decision or position or to prepare and disseminate factual

33  information relating to specific ballot propositions.

34      (3) The entities described in subsection (2) of this section

35  are subject to the public disclosure requirements of chapter 42.17

36  RCW.

37 

SSB 5556                       p. 2

_1     Sec. 3.  RCW 42.52.180 and 1995 c 397 s 30 are each amended to

_2  read as follows:

_3      (1) No state officer or state employee may use or authorize the

_4  use of facilities of an agency, directly or indirectly, for the

_5  purpose of assisting a campaign for election of a person to an

_6  office or for the promotion of or opposition to a ballot

_7  proposition.  Knowing acquiescence by a person with authority to

_8  direct, control, or influence the actions of the state officer or

_9  state employee using public resources in violation of this section

10  constitutes a violation of this section.  Facilities of an agency

11  include, but are not limited to, use of stationery, postage,

12  machines, and equipment, use of state employees of the agency

13  during working hours, vehicles, office space, publications of the

14  agency, and clientele lists of persons served by the agency.

15      (2) This section shall not apply to the following activities:

16      (a) Action taken at an open public meeting by members of an

17  elected legislative body to express a collective decision, or to

18  actually vote upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or

19  ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot proposition as long as

20  (i) required notice of the meeting includes the title and number

21  of the ballot proposition, and (ii) members of the legislative

22  body or members of the public are afforded an approximately equal

23  opportunity for the expression of an opposing view;

24      (b) A statement by an elected official in support of or in

25  opposition to any ballot proposition at an open press conference

26  or in response to a specific inquiry.  For the purposes of this

27  subsection, it is not a violation of this section for an elected

28  official to respond to an inquiry regarding a ballot proposition,

29  to make incidental remarks concerning a ballot proposition in an

30  official communication, or otherwise comment on a ballot

31  proposition without an actual, measurable expenditure of public

32  funds.  The ethics boards shall adopt by rule a definition of

33  measurable expenditure;

34      (c) Activities that are part of the normal and regular conduct

35  of the office or agency; and

36      (d) De minimis use of public facilities by statewide elected

37  officials and legislators incidental to the preparation or

38  delivery of permissible communications, including written and

                               p. 3                      SSB 5556

_1  verbal communications initiated by them of their views on ballot

_2  propositions that foreseeably may affect a matter that falls

_3  within their constitutional or statutory responsibilities.

_4      (3) As to state officers and employees, this section operates

_5  to the exclusion of RCW 42.17.130.

_6      (4) For the purposes of this section, "facilities" includes

_7  local government facilities.

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SSB 5556                       p. 4