Z-0866.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5956
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State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By Senators Gaspard, Sellar, Sutherland, Bauer, Spanel, M. Rasmussen, McAuliffe and von Reichbauer; by request of Governor Lowry and Attorney General
Read first time 03/05/93. Under suspension of rules, read second and third times and passed.
AN ACT Relating to establishing a commission on ethics in government and campaign practices; creating a new section; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) A commission on ethics in government and campaign practices is hereby established. The commission shall study, hold public meetings, take public testimony, and make recommendations on the need and appropriate scope of legislation necessary to: (a) Promote public trust and confidence in government; (b) promote fair campaign practices; and (c) ensure the effective administration of public disclosure, conflict of interest, and ethics laws.
The commission's review shall include, but not be limited to, the mission, role, and funding of the public disclosure commission and the administration and enforcement of disclosure, ethics, and conflict of interest statutes, codes, and rules.
(2) The commission shall include ten citizen members from all areas of the state appointed by the governor. In addition, the commission shall include the governor or his or her designee; the attorney general or his or her designee; two members of the house of representatives from different political parties appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; two members of the senate from different political parties appointed by the president of the senate; and the chief justice of the supreme court or his or her designee. The members of the commission shall be appointed within thirty days after the effective date of this act.
The governor and the attorney general shall within sixty days after the effective date of this act convene the commission and appoint a chair or chairs from among the citizen members.
(3) The commission is authorized to retain the services of experts, consultants, and support staff as necessary to carry out its duties. The governor, attorney general, and the legislature shall make available to the commission personnel, facilities, and other administrative assistance.
(4) The commission shall provide a report to the governor, the attorney general, the chief justice of the supreme court, the house of representatives, and the senate no later than December 1, 1993.
(5) Nonlegislative members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. Legislative members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 44.04.120.
(6) The commission shall expire on March 31, 1994.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1993, from the general fund to the office of financial management for the commission on ethics in government and campaign practices for the purposes of this act. Any funds from this appropriation remaining unexpended on June 30, 1993, are hereby reappropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, to the office of financial management for the commission on ethics in government and campaign practices for the purposes stated in this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.
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