BILL REQ. #:  H-2704.1 

Read first time 03/25/2005.   Referred to Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Confidence in our elected government officials depends upon strong ethics laws and transparency in government activities; and
     WHEREAS, The State of Washington is a leader in government ethics and open government; and
     WHEREAS, Recent actions of the Ethics Committee of the United States House of Representatives have imperiled public trust in that august body; and
     WHEREAS, The majority party of the House of Representatives recently implemented a rule change giving either of the two major political parties veto power over beginning an ethics investigation of a member of the House of Representatives, which will stifle enforcement of ethics laws and rules;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the two major political parties in the House of Representatives are not given veto power over investigating their caucus members; urge that meetings of the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives be open to the public; support the House of Representatives adopting a "Three Strikes and You Are Out" ethics rule denying voting privileges for the remainder of his or her term to any House member that has been admonished by the Ethics Committee three times in the course of a year; and urge that the House of Representatives adopt a rule disqualifying members of the Ethics Committee from voting in matters involving the conduct of any House member to whose legal defense fund they have contributed, either personally or through a political action committee under their control.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of the House of Representatives from the State of Washington.