BILL REQ. #:  H-0470.2 

Read first time 01/18/11.   Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.

     AN ACT Relating to advertisements on state agency web sites; adding a new section to chapter 43.06 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that state agency web sites provide timely and useful information to the public about state agency programs and services. These web sites are informative in nature and do not serve as a public forum or a limited public forum for the discussion or exchange of ideas. The legislature further finds that allowing state agencies to sell internet advertisements for display on their web pages could provide new sources of revenue for the state, particularly for those state agencies that maintain high-traffic web pages. Therefore, the legislature intends to allow a limited number of state agencies to sell internet advertisements for display on their web sites, provided that the advertisements are consistent with the business mission of the agency as well any internet advertisement guidelines adopted by the agency.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.06 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Beginning September 1, 2011, the department of revenue, the department of transportation, the employment security department, the state lottery, and the department of information services, on behalf of access Washington, shall begin selling internet advertisements for display on those agency's web sites. In locations where internet advertisements are offered on a state agency web page, the web page must also include a disclaimer, indicating that the inclusion of internet advertisements does not imply endorsement by the state.
     (2) Prior to selling internet advertisements, a state agency must develop policy, style, and content guidelines for internet advertisements that ensures that the subject matter of any internet advertisement displayed by the agency directly relates to the business mission and purpose of the agency.
     (3) Revenue generated from the sale of internet advertisements under this section must be allocated as follows:
     (a) Any revenues that can be directly attributed to the incremental cost of offering internet advertisements may be retained by the agency, plus ten percent of such costs may be retained by the agency and allocated by the director of the agency for the purpose of encouraging innovation; and
     (b) The agency must transfer any remaining revenues to the higher education coordinating board to fund the passport to college promise scholarship program. All funds transferred to the higher education coordinating board must be exclusively used for foster youth and may not be retained or expended by the higher education coordinating board for any other purpose.
     (4) For the purposes of this section, "internet advertisement" refers to specific advertising methods on the internet, including display or banner advertisements, sponsorships, and business listings where goods or services might be purchased online.