| Passed by the House March 8, 2010 Yeas 97 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 5, 2010 Yeas 41 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1761 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. BARBARA BAKER ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved March 24, 2010, 1:29 p.m. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | March 24, 2010 Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 61st Legislature | 2010 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 01/26/10.
AN ACT Relating to the ethical use of legislative web sites; and amending RCW 42.52.180.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 42.52.180 and 1995 c 397 s 30 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) No state officer or state employee may use or authorize the use
of facilities of an agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of
assisting a campaign for election of a person to an office or for the
promotion of or opposition to a ballot proposition. Knowing
acquiescence by a person with authority to direct, control, or
influence the actions of the state officer or state employee using
public resources in violation of this section constitutes a violation
of this section. Facilities of an agency include, but are not limited
to, use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment, use of state
employees of the agency during working hours, vehicles, office space,
publications of the agency, and clientele lists of persons served by
the agency.
(2) This section shall not apply to the following activities:
(a) Action taken at an open public meeting by members of an elected
legislative body to express a collective decision, or to actually vote
upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or ordinance, or to support
or oppose a ballot proposition as long as (i) required notice of the
meeting includes the title and number of the ballot proposition, and
(ii) members of the legislative body or members of the public are
afforded an approximately equal opportunity for the expression of an
opposing view;
(b) A statement by an elected official in support of or in
opposition to any ballot proposition at an open press conference or in
response to a specific inquiry. For the purposes of this subsection,
it is not a violation of this section for an elected official to
respond to an inquiry regarding a ballot proposition, to make
incidental remarks concerning a ballot proposition in an official
communication, or otherwise comment on a ballot proposition without an
actual, measurable expenditure of public funds. The ethics boards
shall adopt by rule a definition of measurable expenditure;
(c) The maintenance of official legislative web sites throughout
the year, regardless of pending elections. The web sites may contain
any discretionary material which was also specifically prepared for the
legislator in the course of his or her duties as a legislator,
including newsletters and press releases. The official legislative web
sites of legislators seeking reelection shall not be altered between
June 30th and November 15th of the election year. The web site shall
not be used for campaign purposes;
(d) Activities that are part of the normal and regular conduct of
the office or agency; and
(((d))) (e) De minimis use of public facilities by statewide
elected officials and legislators incidental to the preparation or
delivery of permissible communications, including written and verbal
communications initiated by them of their views on ballot propositions
that foreseeably may affect a matter that falls within their
constitutional or statutory responsibilities.
(3) As to state officers and employees, this section operates to
the exclusion of RCW 42.17.130.