BILL REQ. #:  S-3959.1 

Read first time 01/27/14.   Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

     AN ACT Relating to authorizing establishment of ethics defense trust funds; amending RCW 42.52.150; and adding new sections to chapter 42.52 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) A state officer holding an elective office may establish an ethics defense trust fund and name a trustee if the elective state officer is subject to a complaint for an ethics violation filed or issued under this chapter.
     (2)(a) The proceeds of the trust fund may be used to:
     (i) Defray legal expenses and pay monetary penalties incurred by the elective state officer as a result of a complaint filed or issued for an ethics violations under this chapter;
     (ii) Defray costs reasonably incurred in administering the trust fund, including but not limited to costs incident to the solicitation of funds; and
     (iii) Discharge any tax liabilities incurred as a result of the creation, operation, or administration of the trust fund.
     (b) The proceeds of a trust fund may also be used to defray or discharge legal expenses, penalties, costs, or liabilities incurred before the trust fund was established if the legal expenses, penalties, costs, or liabilities are related to the complaint proceedings for which the trust fund was established.
     (3) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the elective state officer may not use proceeds from the trust fund for any personal use.
     (4) An elective state officer may not establish or maintain more than one ethics defense trust fund at any one time.
     (5) Chapter 11.98 RCW does not apply to a trust fund established under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The trustee of an ethics defense trust fund is responsible for:
     (a) The receipt and deposit of contributions to the trust fund;
     (b) The authorization of expenditures and disbursements from the trust fund;
     (c) The performance of other tasks incident to the administration of the trust fund.
     (2)(a) A trustee of an ethics defense trust fund shall establish a single exclusive account in a depository, as defined in RCW 42.17A.005. The depository must be located in this state and must ordinarily conduct business with the general public in this state.
     (b) The trustee shall maintain the account in the name of the trust fund.
     (c) All expenditures made by the trustee shall be drawn from the account and:
     (i) Issued on a check signed by the trustee; or
     (ii) Paid using a debit card or other form of electronic transaction.
     (d) A contribution received by a trustee shall be deposited into the account not later than three working days after the date the contribution is received.
     (e) This section does not prohibit the transfer of any amount deposited in the account into a certificate of deposit, stock fund, or other investment instrument.
     (f) The account may not include any public or private moneys or any moneys of any other person, other than contributions received by the trustee.
     (g) A trustee shall retain a copy of each depository account statement from the account described in this section for not less than two years after the date the statement is issued by the depository.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) Any person may contribute to an ethics defense trust fund established in section 1 of this act.
     (2) A person may make contributions of moneys to an ethics defense trust fund in unlimited amounts.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) An ethics defense trust fund established under section 1 of this act may be terminated by:
     (a) The elective state officer who established the trust fund; or
     (b) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the terms of the trust agreement.
     (2) A trust agreement may provide that an ethics defense trust fund is terminated not later than six months following the completion of the payments authorized under section 1(2) of this act.
     (3) Following termination of an ethics defense trust fund, the trustee may not accept contributions to or make expenditures from the trust fund.
     (4) Not later than thirty days after an ethics defense trust fund is terminated, the trustee of the trust fund shall return any moneys remaining in the trust fund to contributors to the trust fund on a pro rata basis.

Sec. 5   RCW 42.52.150 and 2011 c 60 s 29 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No state officer or state employee may accept gifts, other than those specified in subsections (2) ((and)), (5), and (6) of this section, with an aggregate value in excess of fifty dollars from a single source in a calendar year or a single gift from multiple sources with a value in excess of fifty dollars. For purposes of this section, "single source" means any person, as defined in RCW 42.52.010, whether acting directly or through any agent or other intermediary, and "single gift" includes any event, item, or group of items used in conjunction with each other or any trip including transportation, lodging, and attendant costs, not excluded from the definition of gift under RCW 42.52.010. The value of gifts given to an officer's or employee's family member or guest shall be attributed to the official or employee for the purpose of determining whether the limit has been exceeded, unless an independent business, family, or social relationship exists between the donor and the family member or guest.
     (2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the following items are presumed not to influence under RCW 42.52.140, and may be accepted without regard to the limit established by subsection (1) of this section:
     (a) Unsolicited flowers, plants, and floral arrangements;
     (b) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal value, such as pens and note pads;
     (c) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;
     (d) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state employee for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or employee has no personal beneficial interest in the eventual use or acquisition of the item by the officer's or employee's agency;
     (e) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions related to the recipient's performance of official duties;
     (f) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's official duties;
     (g) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real or personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and solicited for deposit in the legislative international trade account created in RCW 43.15.050;
     (h) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real or personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and solicited for the purpose of promoting the expansion of tourism as provided for in RCW 43.330.090;
     (i) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real or personal property, or both, solicited on behalf of a national legislative association, 2006 official conference of the national lieutenant governors' association, or host committee for the purpose of hosting an official conference under the circumstances specified in RCW 42.52.820 and section 2, chapter 5, Laws of 2006. Anything solicited or accepted may only be received by the national association or host committee and may not be commingled with any funds or accounts that are the property of any person;
     (j) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages consumed at, events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable, governmental, or community organization; and
     (k) Unsolicited gifts from dignitaries from another state or a foreign country that are intended to be personal in nature.
     (3) The presumption in subsection (2) of this section is rebuttable and may be overcome based on the circumstances surrounding the giving and acceptance of the item.
     (4) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (5) of this section, a state officer or state employee of a regulatory agency or of an agency that seeks to acquire goods or services who participates in those regulatory or contractual matters may receive, accept, take, or seek, directly or indirectly, only the following items from a person regulated by the agency or from a person who seeks to provide goods or services to the agency:
     (a) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal value, such as pens and note pads;
     (b) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;
     (c) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state employee for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or employee has no personal beneficial interest in the eventual use or acquisition of the item by the officer's or employee's agency;
     (d) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions related to the recipient's performance of official duties;
     (e) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's official duties;
     (f) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages consumed at, events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable, governmental, or community organization; and
     (g) Those items excluded from the definition of gift in RCW 42.52.010 except:
     (i) 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;
     (ii) Payments for seminars and educational programs sponsored by a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, educational, trade, or charitable association or institution; and
     (iii) Flowers, plants, and floral arrangements.
     (5) A state officer or state employee may accept gifts in the form of food and beverage on infrequent occasions in the ordinary course of meals where attendance by the officer or employee is related to the performance of official duties. Gifts in the form of food and beverage that exceed fifty dollars on a single occasion shall be reported as provided in chapter 42.17A RCW.
     (6) An elective state officer may accept contributions made to an ethics defense trust fund established under section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Sections 1 through 4 of this act are each added to chapter 42.52 RCW.