Ethics in public service

AN ACT Relating to the ethics in public service act; amending RCW 1
42.52.010, 42.52.030, 42.52.070, 42.52.080, 42.52.090, 42.52.110, 2
42.52.120, 42.52.150, 42.52.150, 42.52.160, 42.52.180, 42.52.180, 3
42.52.220, 42.52.320, 42.52.480, 42.52.490, 42.52.805, 42.52.810, 4
42.17A.005, 29B.10.270, 42.17A.615, 29B.50.050, 42.17A.620, 5
29B.50.060, 42.17A.710, and 29B.55.030; reenacting and amending RCW 6
42.52.010; adding new sections to chapter 42.52 RCW; repealing RCW 7
42.52.140, 42.52.340, and 42.52.801; providing an effective date; and 8
providing an expiration date. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:10
Sec. 1. RCW 42.52.010 and 2022 c 173 s 1 and 2022 c 71 s 15 are 11
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 12
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in 13
this section apply throughout this chapter. 14
(1) "Agency" means any state board, commission, bureau, 15
committee, department, institution, division, or tribunal in the 16
legislative, executive, or judicial branch of state government. 17
"Agency" includes all elective offices, the state legislature, those 18
institutions of higher education created and supported by the state 19
government, and those courts that are parts of state government. 20
"Agency" does not include a comprehensive cancer center participating 21
Z-0148.3
SENATE BILL 5143
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Gildon, Pedersen, and Nobles; by request of Legislative
Ethics Board
Prefiled 01/07/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections.
p. 1 SB 5143
in a collaborative arrangement as defined in RCW 28B.10.930 that is 1
operated in conformance with RCW 28B.10.930. 2
(2) "Appearance" means the act of performing or participating in 3
an event.4
(3) "Assist" means to act, or offer or agree to act, in such a 5
way as to help, aid, advise, furnish information to, or otherwise 6
provide assistance to another person, believing that the action is of 7
help, aid, advice, or assistance to the person and with intent so to 8
assist such person. 9
(((3))) (4) "Beneficial interest" ((has the meaning ascribed to 10
it under the Washington case law )) means a financial interest in a 11
contract, sale, lease, purchase, or grant to which an individual 12
subject to the act is not a party, but is an owner of an entity that 13
is a party. An ownership interest of less than 10 percent of an 14
entity is not a beneficial interest . However, an ownership interest 15
in a mutual fund or similar investment pooling fund in which the 16
owner has no management powers does not constitute a beneficial 17
interest in the entities in which the fund or pool invests.18
(((4))) (5) "Charitable association, institution, or 19
organization" means any entity that provides services beneficial to 20
the public to an open class of people.21
(6) "Civic organization" means a nonprofit group relating to the 22
duties or activities of people in relation to their town, city, or 23
local area.24
(7) "Community organization" means an organization aimed at 25
making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-26
being, and overall functioning.27
(8) "Compensation" means anything of economic value, however 28
designated, that is paid, loaned, granted, or transferred, or to be 29
paid, loaned, granted, or transferred for, or in consideration of, 30
personal services to any person. 31
(((5))) (9) "Confidential information" means (a) specific 32
information, rather than generalized knowledge, that is not available 33
to the general public on request or (b) information made confidential 34
by law. 35
(((6))) (10) "Contract" or "grant" means an agreement between two 36
or more persons that creates an obligation to do or not to do a 37
particular thing. "Contract" or "grant" includes, but is not limited 38
to, an employment contract, a lease, a license, a purchase agreement, 39
or a sales agreement. 40
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(((7))) (11) "Emergency" means a serious, unexpected, and often 1
dangerous situation requiring immediate action.2
(12) "Ethics boards" means the commission on judicial conduct, 3
the legislative ethics board, and the executive ethics board.4
(((8))) (13) "Extraordinary award" means a national, state, or 5
local award with very few recipients that is sufficiently infrequent 6
to be noteworthy to a reasonable person.7
(14) "Family" has the same meaning as "immediate family" in RCW 8
42.17A.005. 9
(((9) "Gift" means anything of economic value for which no 10
consideration is given. "Gift" does not include:11
(a) Items from family members or friends where it is clear beyond 12
a reasonable doubt that the gift was not made as part of any design 13
to gain or maintain influence in the agency of which the recipient is 14
an officer or employee;15
(b) Items related to the outside business of the recipient that 16
are customary and not related to the recipient's performance of 17
official duties;18
(c) Items exchanged among officials and employees or a social 19
event hosted or sponsored by a state officer or state employee for 20
coworkers;21
(d) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of 22
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, 23
presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official 24
capacity. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are 25
limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day 26
before through the day after the event;27
(e) Items a state officer or state employee is authorized by law 28
to accept;29
(f) Payment of enrollment and course fees and reasonable travel 30
expenses attributable to attending seminars and educational programs 31
sponsored by a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, 32
educational, trade, or charitable association or institution. As used 33
in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel, 34
lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the 35
day after the event;36
(g) Items returned by the recipient to the donor within thirty 37
days of receipt or donated to a charitable organization within thirty 38
days of receipt;39
(h) Campaign contributions reported under chapter 42.17A RCW;40
p. 3 SB 5143
(i) Discounts available to an individual as a member of an 1
employee group, occupation, or similar broad-based group; and2
(j) Awards, prizes, scholarships, or other items provided in 3
recognition of academic or scientific achievement.4
(10))) (15) "Federal holiday" means the legal public holidays 5
provided in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 6103 (a), as it existed on the effective 6
date of this section.7
(16) "Head of agency" means the chief executive officer of an 8
agency. In the case of an agency headed by a commission, board, 9
committee, or other body consisting of more than one natural person, 10
agency head means the person or board authorized to appoint agency 11
employees and regulate their conduct. 12
(((11))) (17) "Honorarium" means money or thing of value offered 13
to a state officer or state employee for a speech, appearance, 14
article, or similar item or activity in connection with the state 15
officer's or state employee's official role. 16
(((12))) (18) "Institution of higher education" has the same 17
meaning as in RCW 28B.10.016. 18
(((13))) (19) "Lobbying the legislature" means attempting to 19
influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by the legislature 20
of the state of Washington.21
(20) "Official duty" means those duties within the specific scope 22
of employment of the state officer or state employee as defined by 23
the officer's or employee's agency or by statute or the state 24
Constitution. 25
(((14))) (21) "Official position" means holding an office or 26
having authority.27
(22) "Participate" means to participate in state action or a 28
proceeding personally and substantially as a state officer or state 29
employee, through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, 30
the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise but does not 31
include preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation or 32
the performance of legislative duties. 33
(((15))) (23) "Person" means any individual, partnership, 34
association, corporation, firm, institution, or other entity, whether 35
or not operated for profit. 36
(((16))) (24) "Regulatory agency" means any state board, 37
commission, department, or officer, except those in the legislative 38
or judicial branches, authorized by law to conduct adjudicative 39
p. 4 SB 5143
proceedings, issue permits or licenses, or to control or affect 1
interests of identified persons. 2
(((17))) (25) "Responsibility" in connection with a transaction 3
involving the state, means the direct administrative or operating 4
authority, whether intermediate or final, and either exercisable 5
alone or through subordinates, effectively to approve, disapprove, or 6
otherwise direct state action in respect of such transaction.7
(((18))) (26) "State action" means any action on the part of an 8
agency, including, but not limited to: 9
(a) A decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order; and10
(b) A grant, payment, award, license, contract, transaction, 11
sanction, or approval, or the denial thereof, or failure to act with 12
respect to a decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order.13
(((19))) (27) "State employee" means an individual who is 14
employed by an agency in any branch of state government. For purposes 15
of this chapter, employees of the superior courts are not state 16
officers or state employees. 17
(((20))) (28) "State officer" means every person holding a 18
position of public trust in or under an executive, legislative, or 19
judicial office of the state. "State officer" includes judges of the 20
superior court, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the 21
supreme court, members of the legislature together with the secretary 22
of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives, 23
holders of elective offices in the executive branch of state 24
government, chief executive officers of state agencies, members of 25
boards, commissions, or committees with authority over one or more 26
state agencies or institutions, and employees of the state who are 27
engaged in supervisory, policy-making, or policy-enforcing work. For 28
the purposes of this chapter, "state officer" also includes any 29
person exercising or undertaking to exercise the powers or functions 30
of a state officer. 31
(((21))) (29) "Thing of economic value," in addition to its 32
ordinary meaning, includes: 33
(a) A loan, property interest, interest in a contract or other 34
chose in action, and employment or another arrangement involving a 35
right to compensation; 36
(b) An option, irrespective of the conditions to the exercise of 37
the option; and 38
(c) A promise or undertaking for the present or future delivery 39
or procurement. 40
p. 5 SB 5143
(((22))) (30)(a) "Transaction involving the state" means a 1
proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or other 2
determination, contract, claim, case, or other similar matter that 3
the state officer, state employee, or former state officer or state 4
employee in question believes, or has reason to believe:5
(i) Is, or will be, the subject of state action; or6
(ii) Is one to which the state is or will be a party; or7
(iii) Is one in which the state has a direct and substantial 8
proprietary interest. 9
(b) "Transaction involving the state" does not include the 10
following: Preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation, 11
including appropriation of moneys in a budget, or the performance of 12
legislative duties by an officer or employee; or a claim, case, 13
lawsuit, or similar matter if the officer or employee did not 14
participate in the underlying transaction involving the state that is 15
the basis for the claim, case, or lawsuit. 16
(((23))) (31) "University" includes "state universities" and 17
"regional universities" as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and also 18
includes any research or technology institute affiliated with a 19
university. 20
(((24))) (32) "University research employee" means a state 21
officer or state employee employed by a university, but only to the 22
extent the state officer or state employee is engaged in research, 23
technology transfer, approved consulting activities related to 24
research and technology transfer, or other incidental activities.25
Sec. 2. RCW 42.52.010 and 2024 c 164 s 513 are each amended to 26
read as follows: 27
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in 28
this section apply throughout this chapter. 29
(1) "Agency" means any state board, commission, bureau, 30
committee, department, institution, division, or tribunal in the 31
legislative, executive, or judicial branch of state government. 32
"Agency" includes all elective offices, the state legislature, those 33
institutions of higher education created and supported by the state 34
government, and those courts that are parts of state government. 35
"Agency" does not include a comprehensive cancer center participating 36
in a collaborative arrangement as defined in RCW 28B.10.930 that is 37
operated in conformance with RCW 28B.10.930. 38
p. 6 SB 5143
(2) "Appearance" means the act of performing or participating in 1
an event.2
(3) "Assist" means to act, or offer or agree to act, in such a 3
way as to help, aid, advise, furnish information to, or otherwise 4
provide assistance to another person, believing that the action is of 5
help, aid, advice, or assistance to the person and with intent so to 6
assist such person. 7
(((3))) (4) "Beneficial interest" ((has the meaning ascribed to 8
it under the Washington case law )) means a financial interest in a 9
contract, sale, lease, purchase, or grant to which an individual 10
subject to the act is not a party, but is an owner of an entity that 11
is a party. An ownership interest of less than 10 percent of an 12
entity is not a beneficial interest . However, an ownership interest 13
in a mutual fund or similar investment pooling fund in which the 14
owner has no management powers does not constitute a beneficial 15
interest in the entities in which the fund or pool invests.16
(((4))) "Charitable association, institution, or organization" 17
means any entity that provides services beneficial to the public to 18
an open class of people.19
(6) "Civic organization" means a nonprofit group relating to the 20
duties or activities of people in relation to their town, city, or 21
local area.22
(7) "Community organization" means an organization aimed at 23
making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-24
being, and overall functioning.25
(8) "Compensation" means anything of economic value, however 26
designated, that is paid, loaned, granted, or transferred, or to be 27
paid, loaned, granted, or transferred for, or in consideration of, 28
personal services to any person. 29
(((5))) (9) "Confidential information" means (a) specific 30
information, rather than generalized knowledge, that is not available 31
to the general public on request or (b) information made confidential 32
by law. 33
(((6))) (10) "Contract" or "grant" means an agreement between two 34
or more persons that creates an obligation to do or not to do a 35
particular thing. "Contract" or "grant" includes, but is not limited 36
to, an employment contract, a lease, a license, a purchase agreement, 37
or a sales agreement. 38
(((7))) (11) "Emergency" means a serious, unexpected, and often 39
dangerous situation requiring immediate action.40
p. 7 SB 5143
(12) "Ethics boards" means the commission on judicial conduct, 1
the legislative ethics board, and the executive ethics board.2
(((8))) (13) "Extraordinary award" means a national, state, or 3
local award with very few recipients that is sufficiently infrequent 4
to be noteworthy to a reasonable person.5
(14) "Family" has the same meaning as "immediate family" in RCW 6
29B.10.280. 7
(((9) "Gift" means anything of economic value for which no 8
consideration is given. "Gift" does not include:9
(a) Items from family members or friends where it is clear beyond 10
a reasonable doubt that the gift was not made as part of any design 11
to gain or maintain influence in the agency of which the recipient is 12
an officer or employee;13
(b) Items related to the outside business of the recipient that 14
are customary and not related to the recipient's performance of 15
official duties;16
(c) Items exchanged among officials and employees or a social 17
event hosted or sponsored by a state officer or state employee for 18
coworkers;19
(d) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of 20
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, 21
presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official 22
capacity. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are 23
limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day 24
before through the day after the event;25
(e) Items a state officer or state employee is authorized by law 26
to accept;27
(f) Payment of enrollment and course fees and reasonable travel 28
expenses attributable to attending seminars and educational programs 29
sponsored by a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, 30
educational, trade, or charitable association or institution. As used 31
in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel, 32
lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the 33
day after the event;34
(g) Items returned by the recipient to the donor within 30 days 35
of receipt or donated to a charitable organization within 30 days of 36
receipt;37
(h) Campaign contributions reported under Title 29B RCW;38
(i) Discounts available to an individual as a member of an 39
employee group, occupation, or similar broad-based group; and40
p. 8 SB 5143
(j) Awards, prizes, scholarships, or other items provided in 1
recognition of academic or scientific achievement.2
(10))) (15) "Federal holiday" means the legal public holidays 3
provided in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 6103 (a), as it existed on the effective 4
date of this section.5
(16) "Head of agency" means the chief executive officer of an 6
agency. In the case of an agency headed by a commission, board, 7
committee, or other body consisting of more than one natural person, 8
agency head means the person or board authorized to appoint agency 9
employees and regulate their conduct. 10
(((11))) (17) "Honorarium" means money or thing of value offered 11
to a state officer or state employee for a speech, appearance, 12
article, or similar item or activity in connection with the state 13
officer's or state employee's official role. 14
(((12))) (18) "Institution of higher education" has the same 15
meaning as in RCW 28B.10.016. 16
(((13))) (19) "Lobbying the legislature" means attempting to 17
influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by the legislature 18
of the state of Washington.19
(20) "Official duty" means those duties within the specific scope 20
of employment of the state officer or state employee as defined by 21
the officer's or employee's agency or by statute or the state 22
Constitution. 23
(((14))) (21) "Official position" means holding an office or 24
having authority.25
(22) "Participate" means to participate in state action or a 26
proceeding personally and substantially as a state officer or state 27
employee, through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, 28
the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise but does not 29
include preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation or 30
the performance of legislative duties. 31
(((15))) (23) "Person" means any individual, partnership, 32
association, corporation, firm, institution, or other entity, whether 33
or not operated for profit. 34
(((16))) (24) "Regulatory agency" means any state board, 35
commission, department, or officer, except those in the legislative 36
or judicial branches, authorized by law to conduct adjudicative 37
proceedings, issue permits or licenses, or to control or affect 38
interests of identified persons. 39
p. 9 SB 5143
(((17))) (25) "Responsibility" in connection with a transaction 1
involving the state, means the direct administrative or operating 2
authority, whether intermediate or final, and either exercisable 3
alone or through subordinates, effectively to approve, disapprove, or 4
otherwise direct state action in respect of such transaction.5
(((18))) (26) "State action" means any action on the part of an 6
agency, including, but not limited to: 7
(a) A decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order; and8
(b) A grant, payment, award, license, contract, transaction, 9
sanction, or approval, or the denial thereof, or failure to act with 10
respect to a decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order.11
(((19))) (27) "State employee" means an individual who is 12
employed by an agency in any branch of state government. For purposes 13
of this chapter, employees of the superior courts are not state 14
officers or state employees. 15
(((20))) (28) "State officer" means every person holding a 16
position of public trust in or under an executive, legislative, or 17
judicial office of the state. "State officer" includes judges of the 18
superior court, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the 19
supreme court, members of the legislature together with the secretary 20
of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives, 21
holders of elective offices in the executive branch of state 22
government, chief executive officers of state agencies, members of 23
boards, commissions, or committees with authority over one or more 24
state agencies or institutions, and employees of the state who are 25
engaged in supervisory, policy-making, or policy-enforcing work. For 26
the purposes of this chapter, "state officer" also includes any 27
person exercising or undertaking to exercise the powers or functions 28
of a state officer. 29
(((21))) (29) "Thing of economic value," in addition to its 30
ordinary meaning, includes: 31
(a) A loan, property interest, interest in a contract or other 32
chose in action, and employment or another arrangement involving a 33
right to compensation; 34
(b) An option, irrespective of the conditions to the exercise of 35
the option; and 36
(c) A promise or undertaking for the present or future delivery 37
or procurement. 38
(((22))) (30)(a) "Transaction involving the state" means a 39
proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or other 40
p. 10 SB 5143
determination, contract, claim, case, or other similar matter that 1
the state officer, state employee, or former state officer or state 2
employee in question believes, or has reason to believe:3
(i) Is, or will be, the subject of state action; or4
(ii) Is one to which the state is or will be a party; or5
(iii) Is one in which the state has a direct and substantial 6
proprietary interest. 7
(b) "Transaction involving the state" does not include the 8
following: Preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation, 9
including appropriation of moneys in a budget, or the performance of 10
legislative duties by an officer or employee; or a claim, case, 11
lawsuit, or similar matter if the officer or employee did not 12
participate in the underlying transaction involving the state that is 13
the basis for the claim, case, or lawsuit. 14
(((23))) (31) "University" includes "state universities" and 15
"regional universities" as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and also 16
includes any research or technology institute affiliated with a 17
university. 18
(((24))) (32) "University research employee" means a state 19
officer or state employee employed by a university, but only to the 20
extent the state officer or state employee is engaged in research, 21
technology transfer, approved consulting activities related to 22
research and technology transfer, or other incidental activities.23
Sec. 3. RCW 42.52.030 and 2005 c 106 s 2 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1) No state officer or state employee, except as provided in 26
subsection (2) of this section, may ((be beneficially interested, 27
directly or indirectly, )) have a beneficial interest in a contract, 28
sale, lease, purchase, or grant that may be made by, through, or is 29
under the supervision of the officer or employee, in whole or in 30
part, or accept ((, directly or indirectly, )) any compensation, 31
gratuity, or reward from any other person ((beneficially interested)) 32
who has a beneficial interest in the contract, sale, lease, purchase, 33
or grant. 34
(2) No state officer or state employee may participate in a 35
transaction involving the state in his or her official capacity with 36
a person of which the officer or employee is an officer, agent, 37
employee, or member, or in which the officer or employee owns a 38
beneficial interest, except that an officer or employee of an 39
p. 11 SB 5143
institution of higher education ((or the Spokane intercollegiate 1
research and technology institute )) may serve as an officer, agent, 2
employee, or member, or on the board of directors, board of trustees, 3
advisory board, or committee or review panel for any nonprofit 4
institute, foundation, or fund-raising entity; and may serve as a 5
member of an advisory board, committee, or review panel for a 6
governmental or other nonprofit entity. 7
Sec. 4. RCW 42.52.070 and 2022 c 37 s 1 are each amended to read 8
as follows: 9
(1) Except as required to perform duties within the scope of 10
employment, no state officer or state employee may use his or her 11
position to secure special privileges or exemptions for himself or 12
herself, or his or her spouse, child, parents, or other persons.13
(2) For purposes of this section, and only as applied to 14
legislators and employees under the jurisdiction of the legislative 15
ethics board , activities within the scope of employment include but 16
are not limited to duties enumerated in law and activities that have 17
a tangible legislative nexus as described in section 12 of this act . 18
((Activities with a legislative nexus include but are not limited to:19
(a) Communications directly pertaining to any legislative 20
proposal which has been introduced in either chamber of the 21
legislature; and22
(b) Posting information to a legislator's official legislative 23
website, including an official legislative social media account, 24
about:25
(i) Emergencies;26
(ii) Federal holidays, state and legislatively recognized 27
holidays established under RCW 1.16.050, and religious holidays;28
(iii) Information originally provided or published by other 29
government entities which provide information about government 30
resources; and31
(iv) Achievements, honors, or awards of extraordinary 32
distinction.33
(3) It is not a violation of this section for a legislator or an 34
appropriate legislative staff designee to engage in activities listed 35
in subsection (2) of this section.36
(4))) (3) For purposes of this section, and only as applied to 37
legislators and employees of the legislative branch, "special 38
p. 12 SB 5143
privileges" includes, but is not limited to, engaging in behavior 1
that constitutes harassment. As used in this section:2
(a) "Harassment" means engaging in physical, verbal, visual, or 3
psychological conduct that: 4
(i) Has the purpose or effect of interfering with the person's 5
work performance; 6
(ii) Creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work 7
environment; or 8
(iii) Constitutes sexual harassment. 9
(b) "Sexual harassment" means unwelcome or unwanted sexual 10
advances, requests for sexual or romantic favors, sexually motivated 11
bullying, or other verbal, visual, physical, or psychological conduct 12
or communication of a sexual or romantic nature, when:13
(i) Submission to the conduct or communication is either 14
explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of current or future 15
employment; 16
(ii) Submission to or rejection of the conduct or communication 17
is used as the basis of an employment decision affecting the person; 18
or 19
(iii) The conduct or communication unreasonably interferes with 20
the person's job performance or creates a work environment that is 21
hostile, intimidating, or offensive. 22
Sec. 5. RCW 42.52.080 and 1999 c 299 s 3 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
(1) No former state officer or state employee may, within a 25
period of one year from the date of termination of state employment, 26
accept employment or receive compensation from an employer if:27
(a) The officer or employee, during the two years immediately 28
preceding termination of state employment, was engaged in the 29
negotiation or administration on behalf of the state or agency of one 30
or more contracts with that employer and was in a position to make 31
discretionary decisions affecting the outcome of such negotiation or 32
the nature of such administration; 33
(b) Such a contract or contracts have a total value of more than 34
ten thousand dollars; and 35
(c) The duties of the employment with the employer or the 36
activities for which the compensation would be received include 37
fulfilling or implementing, in whole or in part, the provisions of 38
such a contract or contracts or include the supervision or control of 39
p. 13 SB 5143
actions taken to fulfill or implement, in whole or in part, the 1
provisions of such a contract or contracts. This subsection shall not 2
be construed to prohibit a state officer or state employee from 3
accepting employment with a state employee organization.4
(2) No person who has served as a state officer or state employee 5
may, within a period of two years following the termination of state 6
employment, have a ((direct or indirect )) beneficial interest in a 7
contract or grant that was expressly authorized or funded by specific 8
legislative or executive action in which the former state officer or 9
state employee participated. 10
(3) No former state officer or state employee may accept an offer 11
of employment or receive compensation from an employer if the officer 12
or employee knows or has reason to believe that the offer of 13
employment or compensation was intended, in whole or in part, 14
directly or indirectly, to influence the officer or employee or as 15
compensation or reward for the performance or nonperformance of a 16
duty by the officer or employee during the course of state 17
employment. 18
(4) No former state officer or state employee may accept an offer 19
of employment or receive compensation from an employer if the 20
circumstances would lead a reasonable person to believe the offer has 21
been made, or compensation given, for the purpose of influencing the 22
performance or nonperformance of duties by the officer or employee 23
during the course of state employment. 24
(5) No former state officer or state employee may at any time 25
subsequent to his or her state employment assist another person, 26
whether or not for compensation, in any transaction involving the 27
state in which the former state officer or state employee at any time 28
participated during state employment. This subsection shall not be 29
construed to prohibit any employee or officer of a state employee 30
organization from rendering assistance to state officers or state 31
employees in the course of employee organization business.32
(6) As used in this section, "employer" means a person as defined 33
in RCW 42.52.010 or any other entity or business that the person owns 34
or in which the person has a controlling interest. For purposes of 35
subsection (1) of this section, the term "employer" does not include 36
a successor organization to the rural development council under 37
chapter 43.31 RCW. 38
p. 14 SB 5143
Sec. 6. RCW 42.52.090 and 1994 c 154 s 109 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
This chapter shall not be construed to prevent a former state 3
officer or state employee from rendering assistance to others if the 4
assistance is provided without compensation in any form and is 5
limited to one or more of the following: 6
(1) Providing the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of 7
state agencies or state employees; 8
(2) Providing free transportation to another for the purpose of 9
conducting business with a state agency; 10
(3) Assisting ((a natural person )) an individual or nonprofit 11
corporation in obtaining or completing application forms or other 12
forms required by a state agency for the conduct of a state business; 13
or 14
(4) Providing assistance to the poor and infirm.15
Sec. 7. RCW 42.52.110 and 1996 c 213 s 5 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
No state officer or state employee may, directly or indirectly, 18
ask for or give or receive or agree to receive any compensation, 19
gift, reward, or gratuity from a source for performing or omitting or 20
deferring the performance of any official duty, unless otherwise 21
authorized by law except: (1) The state of Washington; or (2) in the 22
case of officers or employees of institutions of higher education 23
((or of the Spokane intercollegiate research and technology 24
institute)), a governmental entity, an agency or instrumentality of a 25
governmental entity, or a nonprofit corporation organized for the 26
benefit and support of the state employee's agency or other state 27
agencies pursuant to an agreement with the state employee's agency.28
Sec. 8. RCW 42.52.120 and 1997 c 318 s 1 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) No state officer or state employee may receive any thing of 31
economic value under any contract or grant outside of his or her 32
official duties. The prohibition in this subsection does not apply 33
where the state officer or state employee has ((complied with RCW 34
42.52.030(2) or)) met each of the following conditions ((are met)):35
(a) The contract or grant is bona fide and actually performed;36
p. 15 SB 5143
(b) The performance or administration of the contract or grant is 1
not within the course of the officer's or employee's official duties, 2
or is not under the officer's or employee's official supervision;3
(c) The performance of the contract or grant is not prohibited by 4
RCW 42.52.040 or by applicable laws or rules governing outside 5
employment for the officer or employee; 6
(d) The contract or grant is neither performed for nor 7
compensated by any person from whom such officer or employee would be 8
prohibited by RCW 42.52.150(((4))) (6) from receiving a gift;9
(e) The contract or grant is not one expressly created or 10
authorized by the officer or employee in his or her official 11
capacity; 12
(f) The contract or grant would not require unauthorized 13
disclosure of confidential information. 14
(2) In addition to satisfying the requirements of subsection (1) 15
of this section, a state officer or state employee may have a 16
beneficial interest in a grant or contract or a series of 17
substantially identical contracts or grants with a state agency only 18
if: 19
(a) The contract or grant is awarded or issued as a result of an 20
open and competitive bidding process in which more than one bid or 21
grant application was received; or 22
(b) The contract or grant is awarded or issued as a result of an 23
open and competitive bidding or selection process in which the 24
officer's or employee's bid or proposal was the only bid or proposal 25
received and the officer or employee has been advised by the 26
appropriate ethics board, before execution of the contract or grant, 27
that the contract or grant would not be in conflict with the proper 28
discharge of the officer's or employee's official duties; or29
(c) The process for awarding the contract or issuing the grant is 30
not open and competitive, but the officer or employee has been 31
advised by the appropriate ethics board after the contract or grant 32
has been awarded that the contract or grant would not be in conflict 33
with the proper discharge of the officer's or employee's official 34
duties. 35
(3) A state officer or state employee awarded a contract or 36
issued a grant in compliance with subsection (2) of this section 37
shall file the contract or grant with the appropriate ethics board 38
within thirty days after the date of execution; however, if 39
proprietary formulae, designs, drawings, or research are included in 40
p. 16 SB 5143
the contract or grant, the proprietary formulae, designs, drawings, 1
or research may be deleted from the contract or grant filed with the 2
appropriate ethics board. 3
(4) This section does not prevent a state officer or state 4
employee from receiving compensation contributed from the treasury of 5
the United States, another state, county, or municipality if the 6
compensation is received pursuant to arrangements entered into 7
between such state, county, municipality, or the United States and 8
the officer's or employee's agency. This section does not prohibit a 9
state officer or state employee from serving or performing any duties 10
under an employment contract with a governmental entity.11
(5) As used in this section, "officer" and "employee" do not 12
include officers and employees who, in accordance with the terms of 13
their employment or appointment, are serving without compensation 14
from the state of Washington or are receiving from the state only 15
reimbursement of expenses incurred or a predetermined allowance for 16
such expenses. 17
Sec. 9. RCW 42.52.150 and 2023 c 91 s 2 are each amended to read 18
as follows: 19
(1)(a) Unless the context requires otherwise, the definition of 20
"gift" in this subsection applies throughout this chapter.21
(b) "Gift" means anything of economic value for which no 22
consideration is given.23
(c) "Gift" does not include the following:24
(i) Items from family members or friends where it is clear beyond 25
a reasonable doubt that the gift was not made as part of any design 26
to gain or maintain influence in the agency of which the recipient is 27
an officer or employee;28
(ii) Items related to the outside business of the recipient that 29
are customary and not related to the recipient's performance of 30
official duties;31
(iii) Items exchanged among officials and employees at a social 32
event hosted or sponsored by a state officer or state employee for 33
coworkers;34
(iv) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of 35
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, 36
presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official 37
capacity. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are 38
p. 17 SB 5143
limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day 1
before through the day after the event; 2
(v) Items a state officer or state employee is authorized by law 3
to accept;4
(vi) Payment of enrollment and course fees and reasonable travel 5
expenses attributable to attending seminars and educational programs 6
sponsored by a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, 7
educational, trade, or charitable association or institution. As used 8
in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel, 9
lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the 10
day after the event;11
(vii) Items returned by the recipient to the donor within 30 days 12
of receipt or donated to a charitable organization within 30 days of 13
receipt;14
(viii) Campaign contributions reported under chapter 42.17A RCW;15
(ix) Discounts available to an individual as a member of an 16
employee group, occupation, or similar broad-based group;17
(x) Awards, prizes, scholarships, or other items provided in 18
recognition of academic or scientific achievement; and19
(xi) Gift cards received by legislative employees in an amount of 20
$25 or less.21
(2) No state officer or state employee may receive, accept, take, 22
seek, or solicit, directly or indirectly, any thing of economic value 23
as a gift, gratuity, or favor from a person if it could be reasonably 24
expected that the gift, gratuity, or favor would influence the vote, 25
action, or judgment of the officer or employee, or be considered as 26
part of a reward for action or inaction.27
(3) No state officer or state employee may accept gifts, other 28
than those specified in subsections (((2) and (5))) (4) and (7) of 29
this section, with an aggregate value in excess of ((fifty dollars)) 30
$100 from a single source in a calendar year or a single gift from 31
multiple sources with a value in excess of ((fifty dollars )) $100. 32
For purposes of this section, "single source" means any person, as 33
defined in RCW 42.52.010, whether acting directly or through any 34
agent or other intermediary, and "single gift" includes any event, 35
item, or group of items used in conjunction with each other or any 36
trip including transportation, lodging, and attendant costs, not 37
excluded from the definition of gift under ((RCW 42.52.010)) 38
subsection (1)(c) of this section . The value of gifts given to an 39
officer's or employee's family member or guest shall be attributed to 40
p. 18 SB 5143
the official or employee for the purpose of determining whether the 1
limit has been exceeded, unless an independent business, family, or 2
social relationship exists between the donor and the family member or 3
guest. 4
(((2))) (4) Except as provided in subsection (((4))) (6) of this 5
section, the following items are presumed not to influence under 6
((RCW 42.52.140)) subsection (3) of this section, and may be accepted 7
without regard to the limit established by subsection (((1))) (3) of 8
this section: 9
(a) Unsolicited flowers, plants, and floral arrangements;10
(b) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal 11
value, such as pens and note pads; 12
(c) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a 13
plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;14
(d) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state 15
employee for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or 16
employee has no personal beneficial interest in the eventual use or 17
acquisition of the item by the officer's or employee's agency;18
(e) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions 19
related to the recipient's performance of official duties;20
(f) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where 21
attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's 22
official duties; 23
(g) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real or 24
personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and 25
solicited for deposit in the legislative international trade account 26
created in RCW 43.15.050; 27
(h) ((Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real 28
or personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and 29
solicited for the purpose of promoting the expansion of tourism as 30
provided for in RCW 43.330.090;31
(i))) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real 32
or personal property, or both, solicited on behalf of a national or 33
regional legislative association as defined in RCW 42.52.822(2), the 34
2006 official conference of the national lieutenant governors' 35
association, the annual conference of the national association of 36
state treasurers, or a host committee, for the purpose of hosting an 37
official conference under the circumstances specified in RCW 38
42.52.820, section 2, chapter 5, Laws of 2006, RCW 42.52.821, or RCW 39
42.52.822. Anything solicited or accepted may only be received by the 40
p. 19 SB 5143
national association or host committee and may not be commingled with 1
any funds or accounts that are the property of any person;2
(((j))) (i) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages 3
consumed at, events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, 4
charitable, governmental, or community organization;5
(((k))) (j) Unsolicited gifts from dignitaries from another state 6
or a foreign country that are intended to be personal in nature; 7
((and8
(l))) (k) Gifts, grants, donations, sponsorships, or 9
contributions from any agency or federal or local government agency 10
or program or private source for the purposes of chapter 28B.156 RCW; 11
and12
(l) Unsolicited gifts received by legislative employees from a 13
legislator. 14
(((3))) (5) The presumption in subsection (((2))) (4) of this 15
section is rebuttable and may be overcome based on the circumstances 16
surrounding the giving and acceptance of the item.17
(((4))) (6) Notwithstanding subsections (((2) and (5))) (4) and 18
(7) of this section, a state officer or state employee of a 19
regulatory agency or of an agency that seeks to acquire goods or 20
services who participates in those regulatory or contractual matters 21
may receive, accept, take, or seek, directly or indirectly, only the 22
following items from a person regulated by the agency or from a 23
person who seeks to provide goods or services to the agency:24
(a) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal 25
value, such as pens and note pads; 26
(b) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a 27
plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;28
(c) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state 29
employee for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or 30
employee has no personal ((beneficial)) interest in the eventual use 31
or acquisition of the item by the officer's or employee's agency;32
(d) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions 33
related to the recipient's performance of official duties;34
(e) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where 35
attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's 36
official duties; 37
(f) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages consumed at, 38
events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable, 39
governmental, or community organization; and 40
p. 20 SB 5143
(g) Those items excluded from the definition of gift in ((RCW 1
42.52.010)) subsection (1)(c) of this section except:2
(i) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of 3
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, 4
presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official 5
capacity; 6
(ii) Payments for seminars and educational programs sponsored by 7
a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, educational, 8
trade, or charitable association or institution; and9
(iii) Flowers, plants, and floral arrangements.10
(((5))) (7) A state officer or state employee may accept gifts in 11
the form of food and beverage on infrequent occasions in the ordinary 12
course of meals where attendance by the officer or employee is 13
related to the performance of official duties. Gifts in the form of 14
food and beverage that exceed ((fifty dollars )) $100 on a single 15
occasion shall be reported as provided in chapter 42.17A RCW.16
Sec. 10. RCW 42.52.150 and 2024 c 164 s 514 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
(1)(a) Unless the context requires otherwise, the definition of 19
"gift" in this subsection applies throughout this chapter.20
(b) "Gift" means anything of economic value for which no 21
consideration is given.22
(c) "Gift" does not include the following:23
(i) Items from family members or friends where it is clear beyond 24
a reasonable doubt that the gift was not made as part of any design 25
to gain or maintain influence in the agency of which the recipient is 26
an officer or employee;27
(ii) Items related to the outside business of the recipient that 28
are customary and not related to the recipient's performance of 29
official duties;30
(iii) Items exchanged among officials and employees at a social 31
event hosted or sponsored by a state officer or state employee for 32
coworkers;33
(iv) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of 34
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, 35
presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official 36
capacity. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are 37
limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day 38
before through the day after the event;39
p. 21 SB 5143
(v) Items a state officer or state employee is authorized by law 1
to accept;2
(vi) Payment of enrollment and course fees and reasonable travel 3
expenses attributable to attending seminars and educational programs 4
sponsored by a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, 5
educational, trade, or charitable association or institution. As used 6
in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel, 7
lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the 8
day after the event;9
(vii) Items returned by the recipient to the donor within 30 days 10
of receipt or donated to a charitable organization within 30 days of 11
receipt;12
(viii) Campaign contributions reported under chapter 42.17A RCW;13
(ix) Discounts available to an individual as a member of an 14
employee group, occupation, or similar broad-based group;15
(x) Awards, prizes, scholarships, or other items provided in 16
recognition of academic or scientific achievement; and17
(xi) Gift cards received by legislative employees in an amount of 18
$25 or less.19
(2) No state officer or state employee may receive, accept, take, 20
seek, or solicit, directly or indirectly, any thing of economic value 21
as a gift, gratuity, or favor from a person if it could be reasonably 22
expected that the gift, gratuity, or favor would influence the vote, 23
action, or judgment of the officer or employee, or be considered as 24
part of a reward for action or inaction.25
(3) No state officer or state employee may accept gifts, other 26
than those specified in subsections (((2) and (5))) (4) and (7) of 27
this section, with an aggregate value in excess of ((fifty dollars)) 28
$100 from a single source in a calendar year or a single gift from 29
multiple sources with a value in excess of ((fifty dollars )) $100. 30
For purposes of this section, "single source" means any person, as 31
defined in RCW 42.52.010, whether acting directly or through any 32
agent or other intermediary, and "single gift" includes any event, 33
item, or group of items used in conjunction with each other or any 34
trip including transportation, lodging, and attendant costs, not 35
excluded from the definition of gift under ((RCW 42.52.010)) 36
subsection (1)(c) of this section . The value of gifts given to an 37
officer's or employee's family member or guest shall be attributed to 38
the official or employee for the purpose of determining whether the 39
limit has been exceeded, unless an independent business, family, or 40
p. 22 SB 5143
social relationship exists between the donor and the family member or 1
guest. 2
(((2))) (4) Except as provided in subsection (((4))) (6) of this 3
section, the following items are presumed not to influence under 4
((RCW 42.52.140)) subsection (3) of this section, and may be accepted 5
without regard to the limit established by subsection (((1))) (3) of 6
this section: 7
(a) Unsolicited flowers, plants, and floral arrangements;8
(b) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal 9
value, such as pens and note pads; 10
(c) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a 11
plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;12
(d) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state 13
employee for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or 14
employee has no personal beneficial interest in the eventual use or 15
acquisition of the item by the officer's or employee's agency;16
(e) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions 17
related to the recipient's performance of official duties;18
(f) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where 19
attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's 20
official duties; 21
(g) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real or 22
personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and 23
solicited for deposit in the legislative international trade account 24
created in RCW 43.15.050; 25
(h) ((Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real 26
or personal property, or both, in trust or otherwise accepted and 27
solicited for the purpose of promoting the expansion of tourism as 28
provided for in RCW 43.330.090;29
(i))) Gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises of real 30
or personal property, or both, solicited on behalf of a national or 31
regional legislative association as defined in RCW 42.52.822(2), the 32
2006 official conference of the national lieutenant governors' 33
association, the annual conference of the national association of 34
state treasurers, or a host committee, for the purpose of hosting an 35
official conference under the circumstances specified in RCW 36
42.52.820, section 2, chapter 5, Laws of 2006, RCW 42.52.821, or RCW 37
42.52.822. Anything solicited or accepted may only be received by the 38
national association or host committee and may not be commingled with 39
any funds or accounts that are the property of any person;40
p. 23 SB 5143
(((j))) (i) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages 1
consumed at, events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, 2
charitable, governmental, or community organization;3
(((k))) (j) Unsolicited gifts from dignitaries from another state 4
or a foreign country that are intended to be personal in nature; 5
((and6
(l))) (k) Gifts, grants, donations, sponsorships, or 7
contributions from any agency or federal or local government agency 8
or program or private source for the purposes of chapter 28B.156 RCW; 9
and10
(l) Unsolicited gifts received by legislative employees from a 11
legislator. 12
(((3))) (5) The presumption in subsection (((2))) (4) of this 13
section is rebuttable and may be overcome based on the circumstances 14
surrounding the giving and acceptance of the item.15
(((4))) (6) Notwithstanding subsections (((2) and (5))) (4) and 16
(7) of this section, a state officer or state employee of a 17
regulatory agency or of an agency that seeks to acquire goods or 18
services who participates in those regulatory or contractual matters 19
may receive, accept, take, or seek, directly or indirectly, only the 20
following items from a person regulated by the agency or from a 21
person who seeks to provide goods or services to the agency:22
(a) Unsolicited advertising or promotional items of nominal 23
value, such as pens and note pads; 24
(b) Unsolicited tokens or awards of appreciation in the form of a 25
plaque, trophy, desk item, wall memento, or similar item;26
(c) Unsolicited items received by a state officer or state 27
employee for the purpose of evaluation or review, if the officer or 28
employee has no personal ((beneficial)) interest in the eventual use 29
or acquisition of the item by the officer's or employee's agency;30
(d) Informational material, publications, or subscriptions 31
related to the recipient's performance of official duties;32
(e) Food and beverages consumed at hosted receptions where 33
attendance is related to the state officer's or state employee's 34
official duties; 35
(f) Admission to, and the cost of food and beverages consumed at, 36
events sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable, 37
governmental, or community organization; and 38
(g) Those items excluded from the definition of gift in ((RCW 39
42.52.010)) subsection (1)(c) of this section except:40
p. 24 SB 5143
(i) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of 1
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech, 2
presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official 3
capacity; 4
(ii) Payments for seminars and educational programs sponsored by 5
a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional, educational, 6
trade, or charitable association or institution; and7
(iii) Flowers, plants, and floral arrangements.8
(((5))) (7) A state officer or state employee may accept gifts in 9
the form of food and beverage on infrequent occasions in the ordinary 10
course of meals where attendance by the officer or employee is 11
related to the performance of official duties. Gifts in the form of 12
food and beverage that exceed ((fifty dollars )) $100 on a single 13
occasion shall be reported as provided in Title 29B RCW.14
Sec. 11. RCW 42.52.160 and 2024 c 333 s 21 are each amended to 15
read as follows: 16
(1) No state officer or state employee may employ or use any 17
person, money, or property under the officer's or employee's official 18
control or direction, or in his or her official custody, for the 19
private benefit or gain of the officer, employee, or another.20
(2) This section does not prohibit the use of public resources to 21
benefit others as part of a state officer's or state employee's 22
official duties. It is not a violation of this section for a 23
legislator or ((an appropriate legislative staff designee )) employees 24
under the jurisdiction of the legislative ethics board to engage in 25
activities listed under RCW ((42.52.070(2) or)) 42.52.822 or section 26
12 of this act. 27
(3) This section does not prohibit de minimis use of state 28
facilities to provide employees with information about (a) medical, 29
surgical, and hospital care; (b) life insurance or accident and 30
health disability insurance; or (c) individual retirement accounts, 31
by any person, firm, or corporation administering such program as 32
part of authorized payroll deductions pursuant to RCW 41.04.020.33
(4) The appropriate ethics boards may adopt rules providing 34
exceptions to this section for occasional use of the state officer or 35
state employee, of de minimis cost and value, if the activity does 36
not result in interference with the proper performance of ((public)) 37
official duties. 38
p. 25 SB 5143
(5) This section does not apply to activities conducted by 1
legislative employees authorized under RCW 44.90.110.2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 42.52 3
RCW to read as follows: 4
(1) This section applies to legislators and employees under the 5
jurisdiction of the legislative ethics board. 6
(2) Legislative nexus means activities by legislators and staff 7
having a reasonably objective connection to the legislator's or 8
staff's official duties or to the policy or programmatic prerogatives 9
of the legislature, or the legislative institution. In cases where 10
legislative nexus is required for the use of state resources, 11
activities with a per se tangible legislative nexus also include the 12
following: 13
(a) Communications directly pertaining to any legislative 14
proposal which has been introduced in either chamber of the 15
legislature; and 16
(b) Posting information to a legislator's official legislative 17
website or social media account about: 18
(i) Emergencies; 19
(ii) Federal holidays, state holidays recognized under RCW 20
1.16.050, religious holidays, and generally recognized days or months 21
of note; 22
(iii) Information originally provided or published by other 23
government entities which provide information about government 24
resources; and 25
(iv) Achievements, honors, or awards of extraordinary distinction 26
received by a constituent who has granted permission to post about 27
the achievement, honor, or award. 28
Sec. 13. RCW 42.52.180 and 2022 c 37 s 3 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) No state officer or state employee may use or authorize the 31
use of facilities of an agency, directly or indirectly, for the 32
purpose of assisting a campaign for election of a person to an office 33
or for the promotion of or opposition to a ballot proposition. 34
Knowing acquiescence by a person with authority to direct, control, 35
or influence the actions of the state officer or state employee using 36
public resources in violation of this section constitutes a violation 37
of this section. Facilities of an agency include, but are not limited 38
p. 26 SB 5143
to, use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment, use of state 1
employees of the agency during working hours, vehicles, office space, 2
publications of the agency, and clientele lists of persons served by 3
the agency. 4
(2) This section shall not apply to the following activities:5
(a) Action taken at an open public meeting by members of an 6
elected legislative body to express a collective decision, or to 7
actually vote upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or 8
ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot proposition as long as 9
(i) required notice of the meeting includes the title and number of 10
the ballot proposition, and (ii) members of the legislative body or 11
members of the public are afforded an approximately equal opportunity 12
for the expression of an opposing view; 13
(b) A statement by an elected official in support of or in 14
opposition to any ballot proposition at an open press conference or 15
in response to a specific inquiry. For the purposes of this 16
subsection, it is not a violation of this section for an elected 17
official to respond to an inquiry regarding a ballot proposition, to 18
make incidental remarks concerning a ballot proposition in an 19
official communication, or otherwise comment on a ballot proposition 20
without an actual, measurable expenditure of public funds. The ethics 21
boards shall adopt by rule a definition of measurable expenditure;22
(c)(i) The maintenance of official legislative websites 23
throughout the year, regardless of pending elections. The websites 24
may contain any discretionary material which was also specifically 25
prepared for the legislator in the course of his or her official 26
duties as a legislator, including newsletters and press releases.27
(ii) The official legislative websites of legislators seeking 28
reelection or election to any office shall not be altered, other than 29
during a special legislative session or to change office contact 30
information, beginning on the first day of the declaration of 31
candidacy filing period specified in RCW 29A.24.050 through the date 32
of certification by the secretary of state of the general election of 33
the election year. As used in this subsection, "legislator" means a 34
legislator who is a "candidate," as defined in RCW 42.17A.005, for 35
any public office. "Legislator" does not include a member of the 36
legislature who has announced their retirement from elected public 37
office and who does not file a declaration of candidacy by the end of 38
the candidacy filing period specified in RCW 29A.24.050.39
(iii) The website shall not be used for campaign purposes;40
p. 27 SB 5143
(d) Activities that are part of the normal and regular conduct of 1
the office or agency((, which include but are not limited to:2
(i) Communications by a legislator or appropriate legislative 3
staff designee directly pertaining to any legislative proposal which 4
has been introduced in either chamber of the legislature; and5
(ii) Posting, by a legislator or appropriate legislative staff 6
designee, information to a legislator's official legislative website 7
including an official legislative social media account, about:8
(A) Emergencies;9
(B) Federal holidays, state and legislatively recognized holidays 10
established under RCW 1.16.050, and religious holidays;11
(C) Information originally provided or published by other 12
government entities which provide information about government 13
resources; and14
(D) Achievements, honors, or awards of extraordinary 15
distinction)); and 16
(e) De minimis use of public facilities by statewide elected 17
officials and legislators incidental to the preparation or delivery 18
of permissible communications, including written and verbal 19
communications initiated by them of their views on ballot 20
propositions that foreseeably may affect a matter that falls within 21
their constitutional or statutory responsibilities.22
(3) As to state officers and employees, this section operates to 23
the exclusion of RCW 42.17A.555. 24
(4) As used in this section, "official legislative website" 25
includes, but is not limited to, a legislator's official legislative 26
social media accounts. 27
Sec. 14. RCW 42.52.180 and 2024 c 164 s 515 are each amended to 28
read as follows: 29
(1) No state officer or state employee may use or authorize the 30
use of facilities of an agency, directly or indirectly, for the 31
purpose of assisting a campaign for election of a person to an office 32
or for the promotion of or opposition to a ballot proposition. 33
Knowing acquiescence by a person with authority to direct, control, 34
or influence the actions of the state officer or state employee using 35
public resources in violation of this section constitutes a violation 36
of this section. Facilities of an agency include, but are not limited 37
to, use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment, use of state 38
employees of the agency during working hours, vehicles, office space, 39
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publications of the agency, and clientele lists of persons served by 1
the agency. 2
(2) This section shall not apply to the following activities:3
(a) Action taken at an open public meeting by members of an 4
elected legislative body to express a collective decision, or to 5
actually vote upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or 6
ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot proposition as long as 7
(i) required notice of the meeting includes the title and number of 8
the ballot proposition, and (ii) members of the legislative body or 9
members of the public are afforded an approximately equal opportunity 10
for the expression of an opposing view; 11
(b) A statement by an elected official in support of or in 12
opposition to any ballot proposition at an open press conference or 13
in response to a specific inquiry. For the purposes of this 14
subsection, it is not a violation of this section for an elected 15
official to respond to an inquiry regarding a ballot proposition, to 16
make incidental remarks concerning a ballot proposition in an 17
official communication, or otherwise comment on a ballot proposition 18
without an actual, measurable expenditure of public funds. The ethics 19
boards shall adopt by rule a definition of measurable expenditure;20
(c)(i) The maintenance of official legislative websites 21
throughout the year, regardless of pending elections. The websites 22
may contain any discretionary material which was also specifically 23
prepared for the legislator in the course of his or her official 24
duties as a legislator, including newsletters and press releases.25
(ii) The official legislative websites of legislators seeking 26
reelection or election to any office shall not be altered, other than 27
during a special legislative session or to change office contact 28
information, beginning on the first day of the declaration of 29
candidacy filing period specified in RCW 29A.24.050 through the date 30
of certification by the secretary of state of the general election of 31
the election year. As used in this subsection, "legislator" means a 32
legislator who is a "candidate," as defined in RCW 29B.10.090, for 33
any public office. "Legislator" does not include a member of the 34
legislature who has announced their retirement from elected public 35
office and who does not file a declaration of candidacy by the end of 36
the candidacy filing period specified in RCW 29A.24.050.37
(iii) The website shall not be used for campaign purposes;38
(d) Activities that are part of the normal and regular conduct of 39
the office or agency((, which include but are not limited to:40
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(i) Communications by a legislator or appropriate legislative 1
staff designee directly pertaining to any legislative proposal which 2
has been introduced in either chamber of the legislature; and3
(ii) Posting, by a legislator or appropriate legislative staff 4
designee, information to a legislator's official legislative website 5
including an official legislative social media account, about:6
(A) Emergencies;7
(B) Federal holidays, state and legislatively recognized holidays 8
established under RCW 1.16.050, and religious holidays;9
(C) Information originally provided or published by other 10
government entities which provide information about government 11
resources; and12
(D) Achievements, honors, or awards of extraordinary 13
distinction)); and 14
(e) De minimis use of public facilities by statewide elected 15
officials and legislators incidental to the preparation or delivery 16
of permissible communications, including written and verbal 17
communications initiated by them of their views on ballot 18
propositions that foreseeably may affect a matter that falls within 19
their constitutional or statutory responsibilities.20
(3) As to state officers and employees, this section operates to 21
the exclusion of RCW 29B.45.010. 22
(4) As used in this section, "official legislative website" 23
includes, but is not limited to, a legislator's official legislative 24
social media accounts. 25
Sec. 15. RCW 42.52.220 and 2022 c 173 s 3 are each amended to 26
read as follows: 27
(1) Consistent with the state policy to encourage basic and 28
applied scientific research by the state's research universities as 29
stated in RCW 28B.140.005, and consistent with the expectations of 30
university faculty to produce, publish, and disseminate research and 31
scholarship, each university and the state board for community and 32
technical colleges may develop, adopt, and implement one or more 33
written administrative processes that shall apply in place of the 34
obligations imposed on institutions of higher education, faculty, and 35
university research employees under RCW 42.52.030, 42.52.040, 36
42.52.080, 42.52.110, 42.52.120, 42.52.130, ((42.52.140,)) 42.52.150, 37
and 42.52.160. The institutions of higher education shall coordinate 38
on the development of administrative processes to ensure the 39
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processes are comparable. Each policy shall apply upon approval by 1
boards of trustees or regents for the state universities, regional 2
universities, and The Evergreen State College, or by the state board 3
for community and technical colleges. Each board of trustees or 4
regents and the state board for community and technical colleges must 5
provide the executive ethics board with a copy of each institution's 6
policy upon approval. A faculty member or university research 7
employee in compliance with the processes authorized in this section 8
shall be deemed to be in compliance with RCW 42.52.030, 42.52.040, 9
42.52.080, 42.52.110, 42.52.120, 42.52.130, ((42.52.140,)) 42.52.150, 10
and 42.52.160. 11
(2) The executive ethics board shall enforce activity subject to 12
the written approval processes under this section, as provided in RCW 13
42.52.360. 14
Sec. 16. RCW 42.52.320 and 1994 c 154 s 202 are each amended to 15
read as follows: 16
(1) The legislative ethics board shall enforce this chapter and 17
rules adopted under it with respect to members and employees of the 18
legislature. 19
(2) The legislative ethics board shall: 20
(a) Develop educational materials and training with regard to 21
legislative ethics for legislators and legislative employees;22
(b) Issue advisory opinions; 23
(c) Adopt rules or policies governing the conduct of business by 24
the board, and adopt rules defining working hours for purposes of RCW 25
42.52.180 and where otherwise authorized under chapter 154, Laws of 26
1994; 27
(d) Investigate, hear, and determine complaints by any person or 28
on its own motion; 29
(e) Impose sanctions including reprimands and monetary penalties;30
(f) Recommend suspension or removal to the appropriate 31
legislative entity, or recommend prosecution to the appropriate 32
authority; and 33
(g) Establish criteria regarding the levels of civil penalties 34
appropriate for different types of violations of this chapter and 35
rules adopted under it. 36
(3) The board may: 37
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(a) Issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses 1
and the production of documentary evidence relating to any matter 2
under examination by the board or involved in any hearing;3
(b) Administer oaths and affirmations; 4
(c) Examine witnesses; and 5
(d) Receive evidence. 6
(((4) Subject to RCW 42.52.540, the board has jurisdiction over 7
any alleged violation that occurred before January 1, 1995, and that 8
was within the jurisdiction of any of the boards established under 9
chapter 44.60 RCW. The board's jurisdiction with respect to any such 10
alleged violation shall be based on the statutes and rules in effect 11
at [the] time of the violation.))12
Sec. 17. RCW 42.52.480 and 1994 c 154 s 218 are each amended to 13
read as follows: 14
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, an ethics board may 15
order payment of the following amounts if it finds a violation of 16
this chapter or rules adopted under it after a hearing under RCW 17
42.52.370 or other applicable law: 18
(a) Any damages sustained by the state that are caused by the 19
conduct constituting the violation; 20
(b) From each such person, a civil penalty of up to five thousand 21
dollars per violation or three times the economic value of any thing 22
received or sought in violation of this chapter or rules adopted 23
under it, whichever is greater; and 24
(c) Costs, including reasonable investigative ((costs, which 25
shall be included as part of the limit under (b) of this subsection. 26
The costs may not exceed the penalty imposed. The payment owed on the 27
penalty shall be reduced by the amount of the costs paid)) expenses.28
(2) Damages under this section may be enforced in the same manner 29
as a judgment in a civil case. 30
Sec. 18. RCW 42.52.490 and 1994 c 154 s 219 are each amended to 31
read as follows: 32
(1) Upon a written determination by the attorney general that the 33
action of an ethics board was clearly erroneous or if requested by an 34
ethics board, the attorney general may bring a civil action in the 35
superior court of the county in which the violation is alleged to 36
have occurred against a state officer, state employee, former state 37
officer, former state employee, or other person who has violated or 38
p. 32 SB 5143
knowingly assisted another person in violating any of the provisions 1
of this chapter or the rules adopted under it. In such action the 2
attorney general may recover the following amounts on behalf of the 3
state of Washington: 4
(a) Any damages sustained by the state that are caused by the 5
conduct constituting the violation; 6
(b) From each such person, a civil penalty of up to five thousand 7
dollars per violation or three times the economic value of any thing 8
received or sought in violation of this chapter or the rules adopted 9
under it, whichever is greater; and 10
(c) Costs, including reasonable investigative ((costs, which 11
shall be included as part of the limit under (b) of this subsection. 12
The costs may not exceed the penalty imposed. The payment owed on the 13
penalty shall be reduced by the amount of the costs paid)) expenses.14
(2) In any civil action brought by the attorney general upon the 15
basis that the attorney general has determined that the board's 16
action was clearly erroneous, the court shall not proceed with the 17
action unless the attorney general has first shown, and the court has 18
found, that the action of the board was clearly erroneous.19
Sec. 19. RCW 42.52.805 and 2007 c 452 s 2 are each amended to 20
read as follows: 21
(1) When soliciting gifts, grants, or donations solely to support 22
the charitable activities of executive branch state employees 23
conducted pursuant to RCW 9.46.0209, the executive branch state 24
officers and executive branch state employees are presumed not to be 25
in violation of the solicitation and receipt of gift provisions in 26
RCW ((42.52.140)) 42.52.150(3). However, the gifts, grants, or 27
donations must only be solicited from state employees or businesses 28
and organizations that have no business dealings with the soliciting 29
employee's agency. For the purposes of this subsection, "business 30
dealings" includes being subject to regulation by the agency, having 31
a contractual relationship with the agency, and purchasing goods or 32
services from the agency. 33
(2) For purposes of this section, activities are deemed to be 34
charitable if the activities are devoted to the purposes authorized 35
under RCW 9.46.0209 for charitable and nonprofit organizations listed 36
in that section, or are in support of the activities of those 37
charitable or nonprofit organizations. 38
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Sec. 20. RCW 42.52.810 and 2005 c 274 s 293 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) When soliciting charitable gifts, grants, or donations solely 3
for the legislative international trade account created in RCW 4
((44.04.270)) 43.15.050, the president of the senate is presumed not 5
to be in violation of the solicitation and receipt of gift provisions 6
in RCW ((42.52.140)) 42.52.150(3). 7
(2) When soliciting charitable gifts, grants, or donations solely 8
for the legislative international trade account created in RCW 9
((44.04.270)) 43.15.050, state officers and state employees are 10
presumed not to be in violation of the solicitation and receipt of 11
gift provisions in RCW ((42.52.140)) 42.52.150(3).12
(3) An annual report of the legislative international trade 13
account activities, including a list of receipts and expenditures, 14
shall be published by the president of the senate and submitted to 15
the house of representatives and the senate and be a public record 16
for the purposes of RCW 42.56.070. 17
Sec. 21. RCW 42.17A.005 and 2022 c 71 s 14 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 20
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 21
(1) "Actual malice" means to act with knowledge of falsity or 22
with reckless disregard as to truth or falsity. 23
(2) "Agency" includes all state agencies and all local agencies. 24
"State agency" includes every state office, department, division, 25
bureau, board, commission, or other state agency. "Local agency" 26
includes every county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-27
municipal corporation, or special purpose district, or any office, 28
department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency thereof, 29
or other local public agency. "Agency" does not include a 30
comprehensive cancer center participating in a collaborative 31
arrangement as defined in RCW 28B.10.930 that is operated in 32
conformance with RCW 28B.10.930. 33
(3) "Authorized committee" means the political committee 34
authorized by a candidate, or by the public official against whom 35
recall charges have been filed, to accept contributions or make 36
expenditures on behalf of the candidate or public official.37
(4) "Ballot proposition" means any "measure" as defined by RCW 38
29A.04.091, or any initiative, recall, or referendum proposition 39
p. 34 SB 5143
proposed to be submitted to the voters of the state or any municipal 1
corporation, political subdivision, or other voting constituency from 2
and after the time when the proposition has been initially filed with 3
the appropriate election officer of that constituency before its 4
circulation for signatures. 5
(5) "Benefit" means a commercial, proprietary, financial, 6
economic, or monetary advantage, or the avoidance of a commercial, 7
proprietary, financial, economic, or monetary disadvantage.8
(6) "Bona fide political party" means: 9
(a) An organization that has been recognized as a minor political 10
party by the secretary of state; 11
(b) The governing body of the state organization of a major 12
political party, as defined in RCW 29A.04.086, that is the body 13
authorized by the charter or bylaws of the party to exercise 14
authority on behalf of the state party; or 15
(c) The county central committee or legislative district 16
committee of a major political party. There may be only one 17
legislative district committee for each party in each legislative 18
district. 19
(7) "Books of account" means: 20
(a) In the case of a campaign or political committee, a ledger or 21
similar listing of contributions, expenditures, and debts, such as a 22
campaign or committee is required to file regularly with the 23
commission, current as of the most recent business day; or24
(b) In the case of a commercial advertiser, details of political 25
advertising or electioneering communications provided by the 26
advertiser, including the names and addresses of persons from whom it 27
accepted political advertising or electioneering communications, the 28
exact nature and extent of the services rendered and the total cost 29
and the manner of payment for the services. 30
(8) "Candidate" means any individual who seeks nomination for 31
election or election to public office. An individual seeks nomination 32
or election when the individual first: 33
(a) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or reserves 34
space or facilities with intent to promote the individual's candidacy 35
for office; 36
(b) Announces publicly or files for office; 37
(c) Purchases commercial advertising space or broadcast time to 38
promote the individual's candidacy; or 39
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(d) Gives consent to another person to take on behalf of the 1
individual any of the actions in (a) or (c) of this subsection.2
(9) "Caucus political committee" means a political committee 3
organized and maintained by the members of a major political party in 4
the state senate or state house of representatives.5
(10) "Commercial advertiser" means any person that sells the 6
service of communicating messages or producing material for broadcast 7
or distribution to the general public or segments of the general 8
public whether through brochures, fliers, newspapers, magazines, 9
television, radio, billboards, direct mail advertising, printing, 10
paid internet or digital communications, or any other means of mass 11
communications used for the purpose of appealing, directly or 12
indirectly, for votes or for financial or other support in any 13
election campaign. 14
(11) "Commission" means the agency established under RCW 15
42.17A.100. 16
(12) "Committee" unless the context indicates otherwise, includes 17
a political committee such as a candidate, ballot proposition, 18
recall, political, or continuing political committee.19
(13) "Compensation" unless the context requires a narrower 20
meaning, includes payment in any form for real or personal property 21
or services of any kind. For the purpose of compliance with RCW 22
42.17A.710, "compensation" does not include per diem allowances or 23
other payments made by a governmental entity to reimburse a public 24
official for expenses incurred while the official is engaged in the 25
official business of the governmental entity. 26
(14) "Continuing political committee" means a political committee 27
that is an organization of continuing existence not limited to 28
participation in any particular election campaign or election cycle.29
(15)(a) "Contribution" includes: 30
(i) A loan, gift, deposit, subscription, forgiveness of 31
indebtedness, donation, advance, pledge, payment, transfer of funds, 32
or anything of value, including personal and professional services 33
for less than full consideration; 34
(ii) An expenditure made by a person in cooperation, 35
consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a 36
candidate, a political or incidental committee, the person or persons 37
named on the candidate's or committee's registration form who direct 38
expenditures on behalf of the candidate or committee, or their 39
agents; 40
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(iii) The financing by a person of the dissemination, 1
distribution, or republication, in whole or in part, of broadcast, 2
written, graphic, digital, or other form of political advertising or 3
electioneering communication prepared by a candidate, a political or 4
incidental committee, or its authorized agent; 5
(iv) Sums paid for tickets to fund-raising events such as dinners 6
and parties, except for the actual cost of the consumables furnished 7
at the event. 8
(b) "Contribution" does not include: 9
(i) Accrued interest on money deposited in a political or 10
incidental committee's account; 11
(ii) Ordinary home hospitality; 12
(iii) A contribution received by a candidate or political or 13
incidental committee that is returned to the contributor within ten 14
business days of the date on which it is received by the candidate or 15
political or incidental committee; 16
(iv) A news item, feature, commentary, or editorial in a 17
regularly scheduled news medium that is of interest to the public, 18
that is in a news medium controlled by a person whose business is 19
that news medium, and that is not controlled by a candidate or a 20
political or incidental committee; 21
(v) An internal political communication primarily limited to the 22
members of or contributors to a political party organization or 23
political or incidental committee, or to the officers, management 24
staff, or stockholders of a corporation or similar enterprise, or to 25
the members of a labor organization or other membership organization;26
(vi) The rendering of personal services of the sort commonly 27
performed by volunteer campaign workers, or incidental expenses 28
personally incurred by volunteer campaign workers not in excess of 29
fifty dollars personally paid for by the worker. "Volunteer 30
services," for the purposes of this subsection, means services or 31
labor for which the individual is not compensated by any person;32
(vii) Messages in the form of reader boards, banners, or yard or 33
window signs displayed on a person's own property or property 34
occupied by a person. However, a facility used for such political 35
advertising for which a rental charge is normally made must be 36
reported as an in-kind contribution and counts toward any applicable 37
contribution limit of the person providing the facility;38
(viii) Legal or accounting services rendered to or on behalf of:39
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(A) A political party or caucus political committee if the person 1
paying for the services is the regular employer of the person 2
rendering such services; or 3
(B) A candidate or an authorized committee if the person paying 4
for the services is the regular employer of the individual rendering 5
the services and if the services are solely for the purpose of 6
ensuring compliance with state election or public disclosure laws; or7
(ix) The performance of ministerial functions by a person on 8
behalf of two or more candidates or political or incidental 9
committees either as volunteer services defined in (b)(vi) of this 10
subsection or for payment by the candidate or political or incidental 11
committee for whom the services are performed as long as:12
(A) The person performs solely ministerial functions;13
(B) A person who is paid by two or more candidates or political 14
or incidental committees is identified by the candidates and 15
political committees on whose behalf services are performed as part 16
of their respective statements of organization under RCW 42.17A.205; 17
and 18
(C) The person does not disclose, except as required by law, any 19
information regarding a candidate's or committee's plans, projects, 20
activities, or needs, or regarding a candidate's or committee's 21
contributions or expenditures that is not already publicly available 22
from campaign reports filed with the commission, or otherwise engage 23
in activity that constitutes a contribution under (a)(ii) of this 24
subsection. 25
A person who performs ministerial functions under this subsection 26
(15)(b)(ix) is not considered an agent of the candidate or committee 27
as long as the person has no authority to authorize expenditures or 28
make decisions on behalf of the candidate or committee.29
(c) Contributions other than money or its equivalent are deemed 30
to have a monetary value equivalent to the fair market value of the 31
contribution. Services or property or rights furnished at less than 32
their fair market value for the purpose of assisting any candidate or 33
political committee are deemed a contribution. Such a contribution 34
must be reported as an in-kind contribution at its fair market value 35
and counts towards any applicable contribution limit of the provider.36
(16) "Depository" means a bank, mutual savings bank, savings and 37
loan association, or credit union doing business in this state.38
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(17) "Elected official" means any person elected at a general or 1
special election to any public office, and any person appointed to 2
fill a vacancy in any such office. 3
(18) "Election" includes any primary, general, or special 4
election for public office and any election in which a ballot 5
proposition is submitted to the voters. An election in which the 6
qualifications for voting include other than those requirements set 7
forth in Article VI, section 1 (Amendment 63) of the Constitution of 8
the state of Washington shall not be considered an election for 9
purposes of this chapter. 10
(19) "Election campaign" means any campaign in support of or in 11
opposition to a candidate for election to public office and any 12
campaign in support of, or in opposition to, a ballot proposition.13
(20) "Election cycle" means the period beginning on the first day 14
of January after the date of the last previous general election for 15
the office that the candidate seeks and ending on December 31st after 16
the next election for the office. In the case of a special election 17
to fill a vacancy in an office, "election cycle" means the period 18
beginning on the day the vacancy occurs and ending on December 31st 19
after the special election. 20
(21)(a) "Electioneering communication" means any broadcast, 21
cable, or satellite television, radio transmission, digital 22
communication, United States postal service mailing, billboard, 23
newspaper, or periodical that: 24
(i) Clearly identifies a candidate for a state, local, or 25
judicial office either by specifically naming the candidate, or 26
identifying the candidate without using the candidate's name;27
(ii) Is broadcast, transmitted electronically or by other means, 28
mailed, erected, distributed, or otherwise published within sixty 29
days before any election for that office in the jurisdiction in which 30
the candidate is seeking election; and 31
(iii) Either alone, or in combination with one or more 32
communications identifying the candidate by the same sponsor during 33
the sixty days before an election, has a fair market value or cost of 34
one thousand dollars or more. 35
(b) "Electioneering communication" does not include:36
(i) Usual and customary advertising of a business owned by a 37
candidate, even if the candidate is mentioned in the advertising when 38
the candidate has been regularly mentioned in that advertising 39
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appearing at least twelve months preceding the candidate becoming a 1
candidate; 2
(ii) Advertising for candidate debates or forums when the 3
advertising is paid for by or on behalf of the debate or forum 4
sponsor, so long as two or more candidates for the same position have 5
been invited to participate in the debate or forum;6
(iii) A news item, feature, commentary, or editorial in a 7
regularly scheduled news medium that is: 8
(A) Of interest to the public; 9
(B) In a news medium controlled by a person whose business is 10
that news medium; and 11
(C) Not a medium controlled by a candidate or a political or 12
incidental committee; 13
(iv) Slate cards and sample ballots; 14
(v) Advertising for books, films, dissertations, or similar works 15
(A) written by a candidate when the candidate entered into a contract 16
for such publications or media at least twelve months before becoming 17
a candidate, or (B) written about a candidate; 18
(vi) Public service announcements; 19
(vii) An internal political communication primarily limited to 20
the members of or contributors to a political party organization or 21
political or incidental committee, or to the officers, management 22
staff, or stockholders of a corporation or similar enterprise, or to 23
the members of a labor organization or other membership organization;24
(viii) An expenditure by or contribution to the authorized 25
committee of a candidate for state, local, or judicial office; or26
(ix) Any other communication exempted by the commission through 27
rule consistent with the intent of this chapter. 28
(22) "Expenditure" includes a payment, contribution, 29
subscription, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money 30
or anything of value, and includes a contract, promise, or agreement, 31
whether or not legally enforceable, to make an expenditure. 32
"Expenditure" also includes a promise to pay, a payment, or a 33
transfer of anything of value in exchange for goods, services, 34
property, facilities, or anything of value for the purpose of 35
assisting, benefiting, or honoring any public official or candidate, 36
or assisting in furthering or opposing any election campaign. For the 37
purposes of this chapter, agreements to make expenditures, contracts, 38
and promises to pay may be reported as estimated obligations until 39
actual payment is made. "Expenditure" shall not include the partial 40
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or complete repayment by a candidate or political or incidental 1
committee of the principal of a loan, the receipt of which loan has 2
been properly reported. 3
(23) "Final report" means the report described as a final report 4
in RCW 42.17A.235(11)(a). 5
(24) "Foreign national" means: 6
(a) An individual who is not a citizen of the United States and 7
is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence; 8
(b) A government, or subdivision, of a foreign country;9
(c) A foreign political party; and 10
(d) Any entity, such as a partnership, association, corporation, 11
organization, or other combination of persons, that is organized 12
under the laws of or has its principal place of business in a foreign 13
country. 14
(25) "General election" for the purposes of RCW 42.17A.405 means 15
the election that results in the election of a person to a state or 16
local office. It does not include a primary. 17
(26) "Gift" has the definition in RCW ((42.52.010)) 42.52.150.18
(27) "Immediate family" includes the spouse or domestic partner, 19
dependent children, and other dependent relatives, if living in the 20
household. For the purposes of the definition of "intermediary" in 21
this section, "immediate family" means an individual's spouse or 22
domestic partner, and child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, 23
stepparent, grandparent, brother, half brother, sister, or half 24
sister of the individual and the spouse or the domestic partner of 25
any such person and a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, 26
stepparent, grandparent, brother, half brother, sister, or half 27
sister of the individual's spouse or domestic partner and the spouse 28
or the domestic partner of any such person. 29
(28) "Incidental committee" means any nonprofit organization not 30
otherwise defined as a political committee but that may incidentally 31
make a contribution or an expenditure in excess of the reporting 32
thresholds in RCW 42.17A.235, directly or through a political 33
committee. Any nonprofit organization is not an incidental committee 34
if it is only remitting payments through the nonprofit organization 35
in an aggregated form and the nonprofit organization is not required 36
to report those payments in accordance with this chapter.37
(29) "Incumbent" means a person who is in present possession of 38
an elected office. 39
p. 41 SB 5143
(30)(a) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure that has 1
each of the following elements: 2
(i) It is made in support of or in opposition to a candidate for 3
office by a person who is not: 4
(A) A candidate for that office; 5
(B) An authorized committee of that candidate for that office; 6
and 7
(C) A person who has received the candidate's encouragement or 8
approval to make the expenditure, if the expenditure pays in whole or 9
in part for political advertising supporting that candidate or 10
promoting the defeat of any other candidate or candidates for that 11
office; 12
(ii) It is made in support of or in opposition to a candidate for 13
office by a person with whom the candidate has not collaborated for 14
the purpose of making the expenditure, if the expenditure pays in 15
whole or in part for political advertising supporting that candidate 16
or promoting the defeat of any other candidate or candidates for that 17
office; 18
(iii) The expenditure pays in whole or in part for political 19
advertising that either specifically names the candidate supported or 20
opposed, or clearly and beyond any doubt identifies the candidate 21
without using the candidate's name; and 22
(iv) The expenditure, alone or in conjunction with another 23
expenditure or other expenditures of the same person in support of or 24
opposition to that candidate, has a value of one thousand dollars or 25
more. A series of expenditures, each of which is under one thousand 26
dollars, constitutes one independent expenditure if their cumulative 27
value is one thousand dollars or more. 28
(b) "Independent expenditure" does not include: Ordinary home 29
hospitality; communications with journalists or editorial staff 30
designed to elicit a news item, feature, commentary, or editorial in 31
a regularly scheduled news medium that is of primary interest to the 32
general public, controlled by a person whose business is that news 33
medium, and not controlled by a candidate or a political committee; 34
participation in the creation of a publicly funded voters' pamphlet 35
statement in written or video form; an internal political 36
communication primarily limited to contributors to a political party 37
organization or political action committee, the officers, management 38
staff, and stockholders of a corporation or similar enterprise, or 39
the members of a labor organization or other membership organization; 40
p. 42 SB 5143
or the rendering of personal services of the sort commonly performed 1
by volunteer campaign workers or incidental expenses personally 2
incurred by volunteer campaign workers not in excess of two hundred 3
fifty dollars personally paid for by the worker. 4
(31)(a) "Intermediary" means an individual who transmits a 5
contribution to a candidate or committee from another person unless 6
the contribution is from the individual's employer, immediate family, 7
or an association to which the individual belongs. 8
(b) A treasurer or a candidate is not an intermediary for 9
purposes of the committee that the treasurer or candidate serves.10
(c) A professional fund-raiser is not an intermediary if the 11
fund-raiser is compensated for fund-raising services at the usual and 12
customary rate. 13
(d) A volunteer hosting a fund-raising event at the individual's 14
home is not an intermediary for purposes of that event.15
(32) "Legislation" means bills, resolutions, motions, amendments, 16
nominations, and other matters pending or proposed in either house of 17
the state legislature, and includes any other matter that may be the 18
subject of action by either house or any committee of the legislature 19
and all bills and resolutions that, having passed both houses, are 20
pending approval by the governor. 21
(33) "Legislative office" means the office of a member of the 22
state house of representatives or the office of a member of the state 23
senate. 24
(34) "Lobby" and "lobbying" each mean attempting to influence the 25
passage or defeat of any legislation by the legislature of the state 26
of Washington, or the adoption or rejection of any rule, standard, 27
rate, or other legislative enactment of any state agency under the 28
state administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. Neither 29
"lobby" nor "lobbying" includes an association's or other 30
organization's act of communicating with the members of that 31
association or organization. 32
(35) "Lobbyist" includes any person who lobbies either on the 33
person's own or another's behalf. 34
(36) "Lobbyist's employer" means the person or persons by whom a 35
lobbyist is employed and all persons by whom the lobbyist is 36
compensated for acting as a lobbyist. 37
(37) "Ministerial functions" means an act or duty carried out as 38
part of the duties of an administrative office without exercise of 39
personal judgment or discretion. 40
p. 43 SB 5143
(38) "Participate" means that, with respect to a particular 1
election, an entity: 2
(a) Makes either a monetary or in-kind contribution to a 3
candidate; 4
(b) Makes an independent expenditure or electioneering 5
communication in support of or opposition to a candidate;6
(c) Endorses a candidate before contributions are made by a 7
subsidiary corporation or local unit with respect to that candidate 8
or that candidate's opponent; 9
(d) Makes a recommendation regarding whether a candidate should 10
be supported or opposed before a contribution is made by a subsidiary 11
corporation or local unit with respect to that candidate or that 12
candidate's opponent; or 13
(e) Directly or indirectly collaborates or consults with a 14
subsidiary corporation or local unit on matters relating to the 15
support of or opposition to a candidate, including, but not limited 16
to, the amount of a contribution, when a contribution should be 17
given, and what assistance, services or independent expenditures, or 18
electioneering communications, if any, will be made or should be made 19
in support of or opposition to a candidate. 20
(39) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, joint venture, 21
public or private corporation, association, federal, state, or local 22
governmental entity or agency however constituted, candidate, 23
committee, political committee, political party, executive committee 24
thereof, or any other organization or group of persons, however 25
organized. 26
(40) "Political advertising" includes any advertising displays, 27
newspaper ads, billboards, signs, brochures, articles, tabloids, 28
flyers, letters, radio or television presentations, digital 29
communication, or other means of mass communication, used for the 30
purpose of appealing, directly or indirectly, for votes or for 31
financial or other support or opposition in any election campaign.32
(41) "Political committee" means any person (except a candidate 33
or an individual dealing with the candidate's or individual's own 34
funds or property) having the expectation of receiving contributions 35
or making expenditures in support of, or opposition to, any candidate 36
or any ballot proposition. 37
(42) "Primary" for the purposes of RCW 42.17A.405 means the 38
procedure for nominating a candidate to state or local office under 39
p. 44 SB 5143
chapter 29A.52 RCW or any other primary for an election that uses, in 1
large measure, the procedures established in chapter 29A.52 RCW.2
(43) "Public office" means any federal, state, judicial, county, 3
city, town, school district, port district, special district, or 4
other state political subdivision elective office. 5
(44) "Public record" has the definition in RCW 42.56.010.6
(45) "Recall campaign" means the period of time beginning on the 7
date of the filing of recall charges under RCW 29A.56.120 and ending 8
thirty days after the recall election. 9
(46) "Remediable violation" means any violation of this chapter 10
that: 11
(a) Involved expenditures or contributions totaling no more than 12
the contribution limits set out under RCW 42.17A.405(2) per election, 13
or one thousand dollars if there is no statutory limit;14
(b) Occurred: 15
(i) More than thirty days before an election, where the 16
commission entered into an agreement to resolve the matter; or17
(ii) At any time where the violation did not constitute a 18
material violation because it was inadvertent and minor or otherwise 19
has been cured and, after consideration of all the circumstances, 20
further proceedings would not serve the purposes of this chapter;21
(c) Does not materially harm the public interest, beyond the harm 22
to the policy of this chapter inherent in any violation; and23
(d) Involved: 24
(i) A person who: 25
(A) Took corrective action within five business days after the 26
commission first notified the person of noncompliance, or where the 27
commission did not provide notice and filed a required report within 28
twenty-one days after the report was due to be filed; and29
(B) Substantially met the filing deadline for all other required 30
reports within the immediately preceding twelve-month period; or31
(ii) A candidate who: 32
(A) Lost the election in question; and 33
(B) Did not receive contributions over one hundred times the 34
contribution limit in aggregate per election during the campaign in 35
question. 36
(47)(a) "Sponsor" for purposes of an electioneering 37
communications, independent expenditures, or political advertising 38
means the person paying for the electioneering communication, 39
independent expenditure, or political advertising. If a person acts 40
p. 45 SB 5143
as an agent for another or is reimbursed by another for the payment, 1
the original source of the payment is the sponsor. 2
(b) "Sponsor," for purposes of a political or incidental 3
committee, means any person, except an authorized committee, to whom 4
any of the following applies: 5
(i) The committee receives eighty percent or more of its 6
contributions either from the person or from the person's members, 7
officers, employees, or shareholders; 8
(ii) The person collects contributions for the committee by use 9
of payroll deductions or dues from its members, officers, or 10
employees. 11
(48) "Sponsored committee" means a committee, other than an 12
authorized committee, that has one or more sponsors.13
(49) "State office" means state legislative office or the office 14
of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney 15
general, commissioner of public lands, insurance commissioner, 16
superintendent of public instruction, state auditor, or state 17
treasurer. 18
(50) "State official" means a person who holds a state office.19
(51) "Surplus funds" mean, in the case of a political committee 20
or candidate, the balance of contributions that remain in the 21
possession or control of that committee or candidate subsequent to 22
the election for which the contributions were received, and that are 23
in excess of the amount necessary to pay remaining debts or expenses 24
incurred by the committee or candidate with respect to that election. 25
In the case of a continuing political committee, "surplus funds" mean 26
those contributions remaining in the possession or control of the 27
committee that are in excess of the amount necessary to pay all 28
remaining debts or expenses when it makes its final report under RCW 29
42.17A.255. 30
(52) "Technical correction" means the correction of a minor or 31
ministerial error in a required report that does not materially harm 32
the public interest and needs to be corrected for the report to be in 33
full compliance with the requirements of this chapter.34
(53) "Treasurer" and "deputy treasurer" mean the individuals 35
appointed by a candidate or political or incidental committee, 36
pursuant to RCW 42.17A.210, to perform the duties specified in that 37
section. 38
p. 46 SB 5143
(54) "Violation" means a violation of this chapter that is not a 1
remediable violation, minor violation, or an error classified by the 2
commission as appropriate to address by a technical correction.3
Sec. 22. RCW 29B.10.270 and 2024 c 164 s 227 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
"Gift" has the definition in RCW ((42.52.010)) 42.52.150.6
Sec. 23. RCW 42.17A.615 and 2019 c 428 s 32 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) Any lobbyist registered under RCW 42.17A.600 and any person 9
who lobbies shall file electronically with the commission monthly 10
reports of the lobbyist's or person's lobbying activities. The 11
reports shall be made in the form and manner prescribed by the 12
commission and must be signed by the lobbyist. The monthly report 13
shall be filed within fifteen days after the last day of the calendar 14
month covered by the report. 15
(2) The monthly report shall contain: 16
(a) The totals of all expenditures for lobbying activities made 17
or incurred by the lobbyist or on behalf of the lobbyist by the 18
lobbyist's employer during the period covered by the report. 19
Expenditure totals for lobbying activities shall be segregated 20
according to financial category, including compensation; food and 21
refreshments; living accommodations; advertising; travel; 22
contributions; and other expenses or services. Each individual 23
expenditure of more than twenty-five dollars for entertainment shall 24
be identified by date, place, amount, and the names of all persons 25
taking part in the entertainment, along with the dollar amount 26
attributable to each person, including the lobbyist's portion.27
(b) In the case of a lobbyist employed by more than one employer, 28
the proportionate amount of expenditures in each category incurred on 29
behalf of each of the lobbyist's employers. 30
(c) An itemized listing of each contribution of money or of 31
tangible or intangible personal property, whether contributed by the 32
lobbyist personally or delivered or transmitted by the lobbyist, to 33
any candidate, elected official, or officer or employee of any 34
agency, or any political committee supporting or opposing any ballot 35
proposition, or for or on behalf of any candidate, elected official, 36
or officer or employee of any agency, or any political committee 37
supporting or opposing any ballot proposition. All contributions made 38
p. 47 SB 5143
to, or for the benefit of, any candidate, elected official, or 1
officer or employee of any agency, or any political committee 2
supporting or opposing any ballot proposition shall be identified by 3
date, amount, and the name of the candidate, elected official, or 4
officer or employee of any agency, or any political committee 5
supporting or opposing any ballot proposition receiving, or to be 6
benefited by each such contribution. 7
(d) The subject matter of proposed legislation or other 8
legislative activity or rule making under chapter 34.05 RCW, the 9
state administrative procedure act, and the state agency considering 10
the same, which the lobbyist has been engaged in supporting or 11
opposing during the reporting period, unless exempt under RCW 12
42.17A.610(2). 13
(e) A listing of each payment for an item specified in RCW 14
42.52.150(((5))) (7) in excess of ((fifty dollars )) $100 and each 15
item specified in RCW ((42.52.010(9) (d) and (f))) 42.52.150(1)(c) 16
(iv) and (vi) made to a state elected official, state officer, or 17
state employee. Each item shall be identified by recipient, date, and 18
approximate value of the item. 19
(f) The total expenditures paid or incurred during the reporting 20
period by the lobbyist for lobbying purposes, whether through or on 21
behalf of a lobbyist or otherwise, for (i) political advertising as 22
defined in RCW 42.17A.005; and (ii) public relations, telemarketing, 23
polling, or similar activities if the activities, directly or 24
indirectly, are intended, designed, or calculated to influence 25
legislation or the adoption or rejection of a rule, standard, or rate 26
by an agency under the administrative procedure act. The report shall 27
specify the amount, the person to whom the amount was paid, and a 28
brief description of the activity. 29
(3) Lobbyists are not required to report the following:30
(a) Unreimbursed personal living and travel expenses not incurred 31
directly for lobbying; 32
(b) Any expenses incurred for the lobbyist's own living 33
accommodations; 34
(c) Any expenses incurred for the lobbyist's own travel to and 35
from hearings of the legislature; 36
(d) Any expenses incurred for telephone, and any office expenses, 37
including rent and salaries and wages paid for staff and secretarial 38
assistance. 39
p. 48 SB 5143
(4) The commission may adopt rules to vary the content of 1
lobbyist reports to address specific circumstances, consistent with 2
this section. Lobbyist reports are subject to audit by the 3
commission. 4
Sec. 24. RCW 29B.50.050 and 2024 c 164 s 477 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) Any lobbyist registered under RCW 29B.50.010 and any person 7
who lobbies shall file electronically with the commission monthly 8
reports of the lobbyist's or person's lobbying activities. The 9
reports shall be made in the form and manner prescribed by the 10
commission and must be signed by the lobbyist. The monthly report 11
shall be filed within 15 days after the last day of the calendar 12
month covered by the report. 13
(2) The monthly report shall contain: 14
(a) The totals of all expenditures for lobbying activities made 15
or incurred by the lobbyist or on behalf of the lobbyist by the 16
lobbyist's employer during the period covered by the report. 17
Expenditure totals for lobbying activities shall be segregated 18
according to financial category, including compensation; food and 19
refreshments; living accommodations; advertising; travel; 20
contributions; and other expenses or services. Each individual 21
expenditure of more than twenty-five dollars for entertainment shall 22
be identified by date, place, amount, and the names of all persons 23
taking part in the entertainment, along with the dollar amount 24
attributable to each person, including the lobbyist's portion.25
(b) In the case of a lobbyist employed by more than one employer, 26
the proportionate amount of expenditures in each category incurred on 27
behalf of each of the lobbyist's employers. 28
(c) An itemized listing of each contribution of money or of 29
tangible or intangible personal property, whether contributed by the 30
lobbyist personally or delivered or transmitted by the lobbyist, to 31
any candidate, elected official, or officer or employee of any 32
agency, or any political committee supporting or opposing any ballot 33
proposition, or for or on behalf of any candidate, elected official, 34
or officer or employee of any agency, or any political committee 35
supporting or opposing any ballot proposition. All contributions made 36
to, or for the benefit of, any candidate, elected official, or 37
officer or employee of any agency, or any political committee 38
supporting or opposing any ballot proposition shall be identified by 39
p. 49 SB 5143
date, amount, and the name of the candidate, elected official, or 1
officer or employee of any agency, or any political committee 2
supporting or opposing any ballot proposition receiving, or to be 3
benefited by each such contribution. 4
(d) The subject matter of proposed legislation or other 5
legislative activity or rule making under chapter 34.05 RCW, the 6
state administrative procedure act, and the state agency considering 7
the same, which the lobbyist has been engaged in supporting or 8
opposing during the reporting period, unless exempt under RCW 9
29B.50.040(2). 10
(e) A listing of each payment for an item specified in RCW 11
42.52.150(((5))) (7) in excess of ((fifty dollars )) $100 and each 12
item specified in RCW ((42.52.010(9) (d) and (f))) 42.52.150(1)(c) 13
(iv) and (vi) made to a state elected official, state officer, or 14
state employee. Each item shall be identified by recipient, date, and 15
approximate value of the item. 16
(f) The total expenditures paid or incurred during the reporting 17
period by the lobbyist for lobbying purposes, whether through or on 18
behalf of a lobbyist or otherwise, for (i) political advertising as 19
defined in RCW 29B.10.410; and (ii) public relations, telemarketing, 20
polling, or similar activities if the activities, directly or 21
indirectly, are intended, designed, or calculated to influence 22
legislation or the adoption or rejection of a rule, standard, or rate 23
by an agency under the administrative procedure act. The report shall 24
specify the amount, the person to whom the amount was paid, and a 25
brief description of the activity. 26
(3) Lobbyists are not required to report the following:27
(a) Unreimbursed personal living and travel expenses not incurred 28
directly for lobbying; 29
(b) Any expenses incurred for the lobbyist's own living 30
accommodations; 31
(c) Any expenses incurred for the lobbyist's own travel to and 32
from hearings of the legislature; 33
(d) Any expenses incurred for telephone, and any office expenses, 34
including rent and salaries and wages paid for staff and secretarial 35
assistance. 36
(4) The commission may adopt rules to vary the content of 37
lobbyist reports to address specific circumstances, consistent with 38
this section. Lobbyist reports are subject to audit by the 39
commission. 40
p. 50 SB 5143
Sec. 25. RCW 42.17A.620 and 2010 c 204 s 805 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) When a listing or a report of contributions is made to the 3
commission under RCW 42.17A.615(2)(c), a copy of the listing or 4
report must be given to the candidate, elected official, professional 5
((staff member)) employee of the legislature, or officer or employee 6
of an agency, or a political committee supporting or opposing a 7
ballot proposition named in the listing or report. 8
(2) If a state elected official or a member of the official's 9
immediate family is identified by a lobbyist in a lobbyist report as 10
having received from the lobbyist an item specified in RCW 11
42.52.150(((5))) (7) or ((42.52.010(10) (d) or (f))) 42.52.150(1)(c) 12
(iv) or (vi), the lobbyist shall transmit to the official a copy of 13
the completed form used to identify the item in the report at the 14
same time the report is filed with the commission.15
Sec. 26. RCW 29B.50.060 and 2024 c 164 s 478 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
(1) When a listing or a report of contributions is made to the 18
commission under RCW 29B.50.050(2)(c), a copy of the listing or 19
report must be given to the candidate, elected official, professional 20
((staff member)) employee of the legislature, or officer or employee 21
of an agency, or a political committee supporting or opposing a 22
ballot proposition named in the listing or report.23
(2) If a state elected official or a member of the official's 24
immediate family is identified by a lobbyist in a lobbyist report as 25
having received from the lobbyist an item specified in RCW 26
42.52.150(((5))) (7) or ((42.52.010(9) (d) or (f))) 42.52.150(1)(c) 27
(iv) or (vi), the lobbyist shall transmit to the official a copy of 28
the completed form used to identify the item in the report at the 29
same time the report is filed with the commission.30
Sec. 27. RCW 42.17A.710 and 2023 c 462 s 502 are each amended to 31
read as follows: 32
(1) The statement of financial affairs required by RCW 42.17A.700 33
shall disclose the following information for the reporting individual 34
and each member of the reporting individual's immediate family:35
(a) Occupation, name of employer, and business address;36
(b) Each bank account, savings account, and insurance policy in 37
which a direct financial interest was held that exceeds twenty 38
p. 51 SB 5143
thousand dollars at any time during the reporting period; each other 1
item of intangible personal property in which a direct financial 2
interest was held that exceeds two thousand dollars during the 3
reporting period; the name, address, and nature of the entity; and 4
the nature and highest value of each direct financial interest during 5
the reporting period; 6
(c) The name and address of each creditor to whom the value of 7
two thousand dollars or more was owed; the original amount of each 8
debt to each creditor; the amount of each debt owed to each creditor 9
as of the date of filing; the terms of repayment of each debt; and 10
the security given, if any, for each such debt. Debts arising from a 11
"retail installment transaction" as defined in chapter 63.14 RCW 12
(retail installment sales act) need not be reported;13
(d) Every public or private office, directorship, and position 14
held as trustee; except that an elected official or executive state 15
officer need not report the elected official's or executive state 16
officer's service on a governmental board, commission, association, 17
or functional equivalent, when such service is part of the elected 18
official's or executive state officer's official duties;19
(e) All persons for whom any legislation, rule, rate, or standard 20
has been prepared, promoted, or opposed for current or deferred 21
compensation. For the purposes of this subsection, "compensation" 22
does not include payments made to the person reporting by the 23
governmental entity for which the person serves as an elected 24
official or state executive officer or professional staff member for 25
the person's service in office; the description of such actual or 26
proposed legislation, rules, rates, or standards; and the amount of 27
current or deferred compensation paid or promised to be paid;28
(f) The name and address of each governmental entity, 29
corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, 30
association, union, or other business or commercial entity from whom 31
compensation has been received in any form of a total value of two 32
thousand dollars or more; the value of the compensation; and the 33
consideration given or performed in exchange for the compensation;34
(g) The name of any corporation, partnership, joint venture, 35
association, union, or other entity in which is held any office, 36
directorship, or any general partnership interest, or an ownership 37
interest of ten percent or more; the name or title of that office, 38
directorship, or partnership; the nature of ownership interest; and: 39
(i) With respect to a governmental unit in which the official seeks 40
p. 52 SB 5143
or holds any office or position, if the entity has received 1
compensation in any form during the preceding twelve months from the 2
governmental unit, the value of the compensation and the 3
consideration given or performed in exchange for the compensation; 4
and (ii) the name of each governmental unit, corporation, 5
partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, association, union, 6
or other business or commercial entity from which the entity has 7
received compensation in any form in the amount of ten thousand 8
dollars or more during the preceding twelve months and the 9
consideration given or performed in exchange for the compensation. As 10
used in (g)(ii) of this subsection, "compensation" does not include 11
payment for water and other utility services at rates approved by the 12
Washington state utilities and transportation commission or the 13
legislative authority of the public entity providing the service. 14
With respect to any bank or commercial lending institution in which 15
is held any office, directorship, partnership interest, or ownership 16
interest, it shall only be necessary to report either the name, 17
address, and occupation of every director and officer of the bank or 18
commercial lending institution and the average monthly balance of 19
each account held during the preceding twelve months by the bank or 20
commercial lending institution from the governmental entity for which 21
the individual is an official or candidate or professional staff 22
member, or all interest paid by a borrower on loans from and all 23
interest paid to a depositor by the bank or commercial lending 24
institution if the interest exceeds two thousand four hundred 25
dollars; 26
(h) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 27
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 28
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds ten thousand 29
dollars in which any direct financial interest was acquired during 30
the preceding calendar year, and a statement of the amount and nature 31
of the financial interest and of the consideration given in exchange 32
for that interest; 33
(i) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 34
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 35
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds ten thousand 36
dollars in which any direct financial interest was divested during 37
the preceding calendar year, and a statement of the amount and nature 38
of the consideration received in exchange for that interest, and the 39
name and address of the person furnishing the consideration;40
p. 53 SB 5143
(j) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 1
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 2
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds ten thousand 3
dollars in which a direct financial interest was held. If a 4
description of the property has been included in a report previously 5
filed, the property may be listed, for purposes of this subsection 6
(1)(j), by reference to the previously filed report;7
(k) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 8
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 9
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds twenty thousand 10
dollars, in which a corporation, partnership, firm, enterprise, or 11
other entity had a direct financial interest, in which corporation, 12
partnership, firm, or enterprise a ten percent or greater ownership 13
interest was held; 14
(l) A list of each occasion, specifying date, donor, and amount, 15
at which food and beverage in excess of ((fifty dollars )) $100 was 16
accepted under RCW 42.52.150(((5))) (7); 17
(m) A list of each occasion, specifying date, donor, and amount, 18
at which items specified in RCW ((42.52.010(9) (d) and (f))) 19
42.52.150(1)(c) (iv) and (vi) were accepted; and 20
(n) Such other information as the commission may deem necessary 21
in order to properly carry out the purposes and policies of this 22
chapter, as the commission shall prescribe by rule.23
(2)(a) When judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, participants in the 24
address confidentiality program under RCW 40.24.030, or their 25
immediate family members are required to disclose real property that 26
is the personal residence of the judge, prosecutor, sheriff, or 27
address confidentiality program participant, the requirements of 28
subsection (1)(h) through (k) of this section may be satisfied for 29
that property by substituting: 30
(i) The city or town; 31
(ii) The type of residence, such as a single-family or 32
multifamily residence, and the nature of ownership; and33
(iii) Such other identifying information the commission 34
prescribes by rule for the mailing address where the property is 35
located. 36
(b) Nothing in this subsection relieves the judge, prosecutor, or 37
sheriff of any other applicable obligations to disclose potential 38
conflicts or to recuse oneself. 39
p. 54 SB 5143
(3)(a) Where an amount is required to be reported under 1
subsection (1)(a) through (m) of this section, it may be reported 2
within a range as provided in (b) of this subsection.3
(b)4
5 Code A Less than thirty thousand dollars;
6
7
Code B At least thirty thousand dollars, but less
than sixty thousand dollars;
8
9
Code C At least sixty thousand dollars, but less
than one hundred thousand dollars;
10
11
Code D At least one hundred thousand dollars, but
less than two hundred thousand dollars;
12
13
Code E At least two hundred thousand dollars, but
less than five hundred thousand dollars;
14
15
16
Code F At least five hundred thousand dollars, but
less than seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars;
17
18
19
Code G At least seven hundred fifty thousand
dollars, but less than one million dollars;
or
20 Code H One million dollars or more.
(c) An amount of stock may be reported by number of shares 21
instead of by market value. No provision of this subsection may be 22
interpreted to prevent any person from filing more information or 23
more detailed information than required. 24
(4) Items of value given to an official's or employee's spouse, 25
domestic partner, or family member are attributable to the official 26
or employee, except the item is not attributable if an independent 27
business, family, or social relationship exists between the donor and 28
the spouse, domestic partner, or family member. 29
Sec. 28. RCW 29B.55.030 and 2024 c 164 s 488 are each amended to 30
read as follows: 31
(1) The statement of financial affairs required by RCW 29B.55.010 32
shall disclose the following information for the reporting individual 33
and each member of the reporting individual's immediate family:34
(a) Occupation, name of employer, and business address;35
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(b) Each bank account, savings account, and insurance policy in 1
which a direct financial interest was held that exceeds twenty 2
thousand dollars at any time during the reporting period; each other 3
item of intangible personal property in which a direct financial 4
interest was held that exceeds two thousand dollars during the 5
reporting period; the name, address, and nature of the entity; and 6
the nature and highest value of each direct financial interest during 7
the reporting period; 8
(c) The name and address of each creditor to whom the value of 9
two thousand dollars or more was owed; the original amount of each 10
debt to each creditor; the amount of each debt owed to each creditor 11
as of the date of filing; the terms of repayment of each debt; and 12
the security given, if any, for each such debt. Debts arising from a 13
"retail installment transaction" as defined in chapter 63.14 RCW 14
(retail installment sales act) need not be reported;15
(d) Every public or private office, directorship, and position 16
held as trustee; except that an elected official or executive state 17
officer need not report the elected official's or executive state 18
officer's service on a governmental board, commission, association, 19
or functional equivalent, when such service is part of the elected 20
official's or executive state officer's official duties;21
(e) All persons for whom any legislation, rule, rate, or standard 22
has been prepared, promoted, or opposed for current or deferred 23
compensation. For the purposes of this subsection, "compensation" 24
does not include payments made to the person reporting by the 25
governmental entity for which the person serves as an elected 26
official or state executive officer or professional staff member for 27
the person's service in office; the description of such actual or 28
proposed legislation, rules, rates, or standards; and the amount of 29
current or deferred compensation paid or promised to be paid;30
(f) The name and address of each governmental entity, 31
corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, 32
association, union, or other business or commercial entity from whom 33
compensation has been received in any form of a total value of two 34
thousand dollars or more; the value of the compensation; and the 35
consideration given or performed in exchange for the compensation;36
(g) The name of any corporation, partnership, joint venture, 37
association, union, or other entity in which is held any office, 38
directorship, or any general partnership interest, or an ownership 39
interest of ten percent or more; the name or title of that office, 40
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directorship, or partnership; the nature of ownership interest; and: 1
(i) With respect to a governmental unit in which the official seeks 2
or holds any office or position, if the entity has received 3
compensation in any form during the preceding twelve months from the 4
governmental unit, the value of the compensation and the 5
consideration given or performed in exchange for the compensation; 6
and (ii) the name of each governmental unit, corporation, 7
partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, association, union, 8
or other business or commercial entity from which the entity has 9
received compensation in any form in the amount of ten thousand 10
dollars or more during the preceding twelve months and the 11
consideration given or performed in exchange for the compensation. As 12
used in (g)(ii) of this subsection, "compensation" does not include 13
payment for water and other utility services at rates approved by the 14
Washington state utilities and transportation commission or the 15
legislative authority of the public entity providing the service. 16
With respect to any bank or commercial lending institution in which 17
is held any office, directorship, partnership interest, or ownership 18
interest, it shall only be necessary to report either the name, 19
address, and occupation of every director and officer of the bank or 20
commercial lending institution and the average monthly balance of 21
each account held during the preceding twelve months by the bank or 22
commercial lending institution from the governmental entity for which 23
the individual is an official or candidate or professional staff 24
member, or all interest paid by a borrower on loans from and all 25
interest paid to a depositor by the bank or commercial lending 26
institution if the interest exceeds two thousand four hundred 27
dollars; 28
(h) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 29
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 30
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds ten thousand 31
dollars in which any direct financial interest was acquired during 32
the preceding calendar year, and a statement of the amount and nature 33
of the financial interest and of the consideration given in exchange 34
for that interest; 35
(i) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 36
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 37
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds ten thousand 38
dollars in which any direct financial interest was divested during 39
the preceding calendar year, and a statement of the amount and nature 40
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of the consideration received in exchange for that interest, and the 1
name and address of the person furnishing the consideration;2
(j) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 3
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 4
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds ten thousand 5
dollars in which a direct financial interest was held. If a 6
description of the property has been included in a report previously 7
filed, the property may be listed, for purposes of this subsection 8
(1)(j), by reference to the previously filed report;9
(k) A list, including legal or other sufficient descriptions as 10
prescribed by the commission, of all real property in the state of 11
Washington, the assessed valuation of which exceeds twenty thousand 12
dollars, in which a corporation, partnership, firm, enterprise, or 13
other entity had a direct financial interest, in which corporation, 14
partnership, firm, or enterprise a ten percent or greater ownership 15
interest was held; 16
(l) A list of each occasion, specifying date, donor, and amount, 17
at which food and beverage in excess of ((fifty dollars )) $100 was 18
accepted under RCW 42.52.150(((5))) (7); 19
(m) A list of each occasion, specifying date, donor, and amount, 20
at which items specified in RCW ((42.52.010(9) (d) and (f))) 21
42.52.150(1)(c) (iv) and (vi) were accepted; and 22
(n) Such other information as the commission may deem necessary 23
in order to properly carry out the purposes and policies of this 24
title, as the commission shall prescribe by rule. 25
(2)(a) When judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, participants in the 26
address confidentiality program under RCW 40.24.030, or their 27
immediate family members are required to disclose real property that 28
is the personal residence of the judge, prosecutor, sheriff, or 29
address confidentiality program participant, the requirements of 30
subsection (1)(h) through (k) of this section may be satisfied for 31
that property by substituting: 32
(i) The city or town; 33
(ii) The type of residence, such as a single-family or 34
multifamily residence, and the nature of ownership; and35
(iii) Such other identifying information the commission 36
prescribes by rule for the mailing address where the property is 37
located. 38
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(b) Nothing in this subsection relieves the judge, prosecutor, or 1
sheriff of any other applicable obligations to disclose potential 2
conflicts or to recuse oneself. 3
(3)(a) Where an amount is required to be reported under 4
subsection (1)(a) through (m) of this section, it may be reported 5
within a range as provided in (b) of this subsection.6
(b)7
8 Code A Less than thirty thousand dollars;
9
10
Code B At least thirty thousand dollars, but less
than sixty thousand dollars;
11
12
Code C At least sixty thousand dollars, but less
than one hundred thousand dollars;
13
14
Code D At least one hundred thousand dollars, but
less than two hundred thousand dollars;
15
16
Code E At least two hundred thousand dollars, but
less than five hundred thousand dollars;
17
18
19
Code F At least five hundred thousand dollars, but
less than seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars;
20
21
22
Code G At least seven hundred fifty thousand
dollars, but less than one million dollars;
or
23 Code H One million dollars or more.
(c) An amount of stock may be reported by number of shares 24
instead of by market value. No provision of this subsection may be 25
interpreted to prevent any person from filing more information or 26
more detailed information than required. 27
(4) Items of value given to an official's or employee's spouse, 28
domestic partner, or family member are attributable to the official 29
or employee, except the item is not attributable if an independent 30
business, family, or social relationship exists between the donor and 31
the spouse, domestic partner, or family member. 32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 29. A new section is added to chapter 42.52 33
RCW to read as follows: 34
Members and employees of either the legislative ethics board or 35
the executive ethics board, including any lawyers or special masters 36
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temporarily employed by either board, are immune from suit in any 1
action, civil or criminal, based upon any complaint investigations or 2
other official acts performed in the course of their duties. 3
Statements made to either board or its investigators or other 4
employees are absolutely privileged in actions for defamation. This 5
absolute privilege does not apply to statements made in any other 6
forum. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 30. The following acts or parts of acts are 8
each repealed:9
(1) RCW 42.52.140 (Gifts) and 1994 c 154 s 114;10
(2) RCW 42.52.340 (Transfer of jurisdiction) and 1994 c 154 s 11
204; and 12
(3) RCW 42.52.801 (Exemption—Solicitation to promote tourism) and 13
2003 c 153 s 5. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 31. Sections 1, 9, 13, 21, 23, 25, and 27 of 15
this act expire January 1, 2026. 16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 32. Sections 2, 10, 14, 22, 24, 26, and 28 of 17
this act take effect January 1, 2026.18
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