CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5170

Chapter 91, Laws of 2023

68TH LEGISLATURE

2023 REGULAR SESSION

LEGISLATIVE ASSOCIATIONS—DONATION SOLICITATION

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 23, 2023

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5170

BySenate State Government & Elections (originally sponsored by Senators Hunt, Kuderer, J. Wilson, Hasegawa, and C. Wilson)

AN ACT Relating to funding and expenditures for legislative organizations by legislators who serve as elected leaders of those organizations; amending RCW 42.56.160; reenacting and amending RCW 42.52.150; and adding a new section to chapter 42.52 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 42.52 RCW to read as follows:

(1) When soliciting gifts, grants, or donations to a regional or national legislative association for an official conference held outside the state of Washington, legislators who serve as elected leaders of the association and designated legislative employees are presumed not to be in violation of the solicitation and receipt of gift provisions of this chapter.

(2) For purposes of this section, any regional or national legislative association is any organization which:

(a) Exists for the purpose of supporting legislators in the execution of their official duties;

(b) Includes among its membership the Washington state legislature; and

(c) Is supported in part by the payment of annual dues by the Washington state legislature.

Sec. 2. RCW 42.52.150 and 2015 3rd sp.s. c 20 s 7 and 2015 c 45 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) No state officer or state employee may accept gifts, other than those specified in subsections (2) and (5) 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 or regional legislative association as defined in section 1(2) of this act, the 2006 official conference of the national lieutenant governors' association, the annual conference of the national association of state treasurers(([,])), or a host committee, for the purpose of hosting an official conference under the circumstances specified in RCW 42.52.820, section 2, chapter 5, Laws of 2006, ((or)) RCW 42.52.821, or section 1 of this act. 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;

(k) Unsolicited gifts from dignitaries from another state or a foreign country that are intended to be personal in nature; and

(l) Gifts, grants, donations, sponsorships, or contributions from any agency or federal or local government agency or program or private source for the purposes of chapter 28B.156 RCW.

(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.

Sec. 3. RCW 42.52.160 and 2022 c 37 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) No state officer or state employee may employ or use any person, money, or property under the officer's or employee's official control or direction, or in his or her official custody, for the private benefit or gain of the officer, employee, or another.

(2) This section does not prohibit the use of public resources to benefit others as part of a state officer's or state employee's official duties. It is not a violation of this section for a legislator or an appropriate legislative staff designee to engage in activities listed under RCW 42.52.070(2) or section 1 of this act.

(3) This section does not prohibit de minimis use of state facilities to provide employees with information about (a) medical, surgical, and hospital care; (b) life insurance or accident and health disability insurance; or (c) individual retirement accounts, by any person, firm, or corporation administering such program as part of authorized payroll deductions pursuant to RCW 41.04.020.

(4) The appropriate ethics boards may adopt rules providing exceptions to this section for occasional use of the state officer or state employee, of de minimis cost and value, if the activity does not result in interference with the proper performance of public duties.

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