S-0957.1
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5170
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2021 Regular Session
By Senate State Government & Elections (originally sponsored by
Senators Carlyle, Hunt, Kuderer, Liias, Saldaña, and Wilson, C.)
READ FIRST TIME 02/08/21.
1 AN ACT Relating to employment after public service in state
2 government; amending RCW 42.52.080 and 42.52.900; reenacting and
3 amending RCW 42.52.010; adding a new section to chapter 42.52 RCW;
4 creating new sections; and providing an effective date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 Sec. 1. RCW 42.52.010 and 2011 c 60 s 28 are each reenacted and
7 amended to read as follows:
8 Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in
9 this section apply throughout this chapter.
10 (1) "Agency" means any state board, commission, bureau,
11 committee, department, institution, division, or tribunal in the
12 legislative, executive, or judicial branch of state government.
13 "Agency" includes all elective offices, the state legislature, those
14 institutions of higher education created and supported by the state
15 government, and those courts that are parts of state government.
16 (2) "Assist" means to act, or offer or agree to act, in such a
17 way as to help, aid, advise, furnish information to, or otherwise
18 provide assistance to another person, believing that the action is of
19 help, aid, advice, or assistance to the person and with intent so to
20 assist such person.
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 1 (3) "Beneficial interest" has the meaning ascribed to it under
2 the Washington case law. However, an ownership interest in a mutual
3 fund or similar investment pooling fund in which the owner has no
4 management powers does not constitute a beneficial interest in the
5 entities in which the fund or pool invests.
6 (4) "Compensation" means anything of economic value, however
7 designated, that is paid, loaned, granted, or transferred, or to be
8 paid, loaned, granted, or transferred for, or in consideration of,
9 personal services to any person.
10 (5) "Confidential information" means (a) specific information,
11 rather than generalized knowledge, that is not available to the
12 general public on request or (b) information made confidential by
13 law.
14 (6) "Contract" or "grant" means an agreement between two or more
15 persons that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular
16 thing. "Contract" or "grant" includes, but is not limited to, an
17 employment contract, a lease, a license, a purchase agreement, or a
18 sales agreement.
19 (7) "Ethics boards" means the commission on judicial conduct, the
20 legislative ethics board, and the executive ethics board.
21 (8) "Family" has the same meaning as "immediate family" in RCW
22 42.17A.005.
23 (9) "Gift" means anything of economic value for which no
24 consideration is given. "Gift" does not include:
25 (a) Items from family members or friends where it is clear beyond
26 a reasonable doubt that the gift was not made as part of any design
27 to gain or maintain influence in the agency of which the recipient is
28 an officer or employee;
29 (b) Items related to the outside business of the recipient that
30 are customary and not related to the recipient's performance of
31 official duties;
32 (c) Items exchanged among officials and employees or a social
33 event hosted or sponsored by a state officer or state employee for
34 coworkers;
35 (d) Payments by a governmental or nongovernmental entity of
36 reasonable expenses incurred in connection with a speech,
37 presentation, appearance, or trade mission made in an official
38 capacity. As used in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are
39 limited to travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day
40 before through the day after the event;
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 1 (e) Items a state officer or state employee is authorized by law
2 to accept;
3 (f) Payment of enrollment and course fees and reasonable travel
4 expenses attributable to attending seminars and educational programs
5 sponsored by a bona fide governmental or nonprofit professional,
6 educational, trade, or charitable association or institution. As used
7 in this subsection, "reasonable expenses" are limited to travel,
8 lodging, and subsistence expenses incurred the day before through the
9 day after the event;
10 (g) Items returned by the recipient to the donor within thirty
11 days of receipt or donated to a charitable organization within thirty
12 days of receipt;
13 (h) Campaign contributions reported under chapter 42.17A RCW;
14 (i) Discounts available to an individual as a member of an
15 employee group, occupation, or similar broad-based group; and
16 (j) Awards, prizes, scholarships, or other items provided in
17 recognition of academic or scientific achievement.
18 (10) "Head of agency" means the chief executive officer of an
19 agency. In the case of an agency headed by a commission, board,
20 committee, or other body consisting of more than one natural person,
21 agency head means the person or board authorized to appoint agency
22 employees and regulate their conduct.
23 (11) "Honorarium" means money or thing of value offered to a
24 state officer or state employee for a speech, appearance, article, or
25 similar item or activity in connection with the state officer's or
26 state employee's official role.
27 (12) "Local agency" includes every county, city, town, municipal
28 corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special purpose
29 district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board,
30 commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency.
31 (13) "Official duty" means those duties within the specific scope
32 of employment of the state officer or state employee as defined by
33 the officer's or employee's agency or by statute or the state
34 Constitution.
35 (((13))) (14) "Participate" means to participate in state action
36 or a proceeding personally and substantially as a state officer or
37 state employee, through approval, disapproval, decision,
38 recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise
39 but does not include preparation, consideration, or enactment of
40 legislation or the performance of legislative duties.
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 1 (((14))) (15) "Person" means any individual, partnership,
2 association, corporation, firm, institution, or other entity, whether
3 or not operated for profit.
4 (((15))) (16) "Regulatory agency" means any state board,
5 commission, department, or officer, except those in the legislative
6 or judicial branches, authorized by law to conduct adjudicative
7 proceedings, issue permits or licenses, or to control or affect
8 interests of identified persons.
9 (((16))) (17) "Responsibility" in connection with a transaction
10 involving the state, means the direct administrative or operating
11 authority, whether intermediate or final, and either exercisable
12 alone or through subordinates, effectively to approve, disapprove, or
13 otherwise direct state action in respect of such transaction.
14 (((17))) (18) "State action" means any action on the part of an
15 agency, including, but not limited to:
16 (a) A decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order; and
17 (b) A grant, payment, award, license, contract, transaction,
18 sanction, or approval, or the denial thereof, or failure to act with
19 respect to a decision, determination, finding, ruling, or order.
20 (((18))) (19) "State employee" means an individual who is
21 employed by an agency in any branch of state government. For purposes
22 of this chapter, employees of the superior courts are not state
23 officers or state employees.
24 (((19))) (20) "State officer" means every person holding a
25 position of public trust in or under an executive, legislative, or
26 judicial office of the state. "State officer" includes judges of the
27 superior court, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the
28 supreme court, members of the legislature together with the secretary
29 of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives,
30 holders of elective offices in the executive branch of state
31 government, chief executive officers of state agencies, members of
32 boards, commissions, or committees with authority over one or more
33 state agencies or institutions, and employees of the state who are
34 engaged in supervisory, policy-making, or policy-enforcing work. For
35 the purposes of this chapter, "state officer" also includes any
36 person exercising or undertaking to exercise the powers or functions
37 of a state officer.
38 (((20))) (21) "Thing of economic value," in addition to its
39 ordinary meaning, includes:
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 1 (a) A loan, property interest, interest in a contract or other
2 chose in action, and employment or another arrangement involving a
3 right to compensation;
4 (b) An option, irrespective of the conditions to the exercise of
5 the option; and
6 (c) A promise or undertaking for the present or future delivery
7 or procurement.
8 (((21))) (22)(a) "Transaction involving the state" means a
9 proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or other
10 determination, contract, claim, case, or other similar matter that
11 the state officer, state employee, or former state officer or state
12 employee in question believes, or has reason to believe:
13 (i) Is, or will be, the subject of state action; or
14 (ii) Is one to which the state is or will be a party; or
15 (iii) Is one in which the state has a direct and substantial
16 proprietary interest.
17 (b) "Transaction involving the state" does not include the
18 following: Preparation, consideration, or enactment of legislation,
19 including appropriation of moneys in a budget, or the performance of
20 legislative duties by an officer or employee; or a claim, case,
21 lawsuit, or similar matter if the officer or employee did not
22 participate in the underlying transaction involving the state that is
23 the basis for the claim, case, or lawsuit.
24 (((22))) (23) "University" includes "state universities" and
25 "regional universities" as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and also
26 includes any research or technology institute affiliated with a
27 university, including without limitation, the Spokane intercollegiate
28 research and technology institute and the Washington technology
29 center.
30 (((23))) (24) "University research employee" means a state
31 officer or state employee employed by a university, but only to the
32 extent the state officer or state employee is engaged in research,
33 technology transfer, approved consulting activities related to
34 research and technology transfer, or other incidental activities.
35 Sec. 2. RCW 42.52.080 and 1999 c 299 s 3 are each amended to
36 read as follows:
37 (1) No former state officer or state employee may, within a
38 period of one year from the date of termination of state employment,
39 accept employment or receive compensation from an employer if:
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 1 (a) The officer or employee, during the two years immediately
2 preceding termination of state employment, was engaged in the
3 negotiation or administration on behalf of the state or agency of one
4 or more contracts with that employer and was in a position to make
5 discretionary decisions affecting the outcome of such negotiation or
6 the nature of such administration;
7 (b) Such a contract or contracts have a total value of more than
8 ten thousand dollars; and
9 (c) The duties of the employment with the employer or the
10 activities for which the compensation would be received include
11 fulfilling or implementing, in whole or in part, the provisions of
12 such a contract or contracts or include the supervision or control of
13 actions taken to fulfill or implement, in whole or in part, the
14 provisions of such a contract or contracts. This subsection shall not
15 be construed to prohibit a state officer or state employee from
16 accepting employment with a state employee organization.
17 (2) No person who has served as a state officer or state employee
18 may, within a period of two years following the termination of state
19 employment, have a direct or indirect beneficial interest in a
20 contract or grant that was expressly authorized or funded by specific
21 legislative or executive action in which the former state officer or
22 state employee participated.
23 (3) No former state officer or state employee may accept an offer
24 of employment or receive compensation from an employer if the officer
25 or employee knows or has reason to believe that the offer of
26 employment or compensation was intended, in whole or in part,
27 directly or indirectly, to influence the officer or employee or as
28 compensation or reward for the performance or nonperformance of a
29 duty by the officer or employee during the course of state
30 employment.
31 (4) No former state officer or state employee may accept an offer
32 of employment or receive compensation from an employer if the
33 circumstances would lead a reasonable person to believe the offer has
34 been made, or compensation given, for the purpose of influencing the
35 performance or nonperformance of duties by the officer or employee
36 during the course of state employment.
37 (5) No former state officer or state employee may at any time
38 subsequent to his or her state employment assist another person,
39 whether or not for compensation, in any transaction involving the
40 state in which the former state officer or state employee at any time
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 1 participated during state employment. This subsection shall not be
2 construed to prohibit any employee or officer of a state employee
3 organization from rendering assistance to state officers or state
4 employees in the course of employee organization business.
5 (6)(a) The following categories of former state officers and
6 state employees apply to this subsection (6):
7 (i) Category A:
8 (A) Statewide elected officials;
9 (B) State legislators;
10 (C) Heads of agencies included in the governor's executive
11 cabinet;
12 (D) Chiefs of staff or equivalent top administrators who report
13 directly to statewide elected officials and heads of agencies
14 included in the governor's executive cabinet;
15 (E) Chiefs of staff and top administrators of the legislature,
16 which includes the chief clerk of the house of representatives, the
17 secretary of the senate, the legal counsel for each legislative
18 chamber, and the caucus chiefs of staff and caucus leadership counsel
19 in each legislative chamber; and
20 (F) Senior executive staff of legislative agencies and agencies
21 managed by statewide elected officials or heads of agencies included
22 in the governor's executive cabinet; and
23 (ii) Category B:
24 (A) Heads of agencies not otherwise listed in category A;
25 (B) Chiefs of staff or equivalent top administrators who report
26 directly to heads of agencies not otherwise listed in category A; and
27 (C) Senior executive staff managed by heads of agencies not
28 otherwise listed in category A.
29 (b) For the purpose of this subsection (6), "senior executive
30 staff" means those state employees or state officers whose primary
31 responsibilities require the exercise of significant discretion and
32 judgment on final agency policy, rule, legislative matter, or state
33 action. By January 15th of each year, every agency shall submit to
34 the relevant ethics board the names and staff positions meeting the
35 criteria of senior executive staff, and must periodically update that
36 list throughout the year as necessary to reflect changes in staff.
37 (c) Persons in categories A and B shall file a postemployment
38 disclosure statement under section 4 of this act.
39 (d) Persons in category A, within one year after leaving state
40 office or employment, may not receive compensation for:
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 1 (i) Serving as a lobbyist as defined in RCW 42.17A.005 for
2 others;
3 (ii) Practicing or appearing before any state agency; or
4 (iii) Attempting, on behalf of another, to influence a state
5 action by any state agency.
6 (e) Persons in category B, within one year after leaving state
7 office or employment, may not receive compensation for:
8 (i) Serving as a lobbyist for others as defined in RCW 42.17A.005
9 on any matter that was or is under the authority of his or her most
10 recent former state employer;
11 (ii) Practicing or appearing before his or her most recent former
12 state employer; or
13 (iii) Attempting, on behalf of another, to influence a state
14 action by his or her most recent former state employer.
15 (f) This subsection (6) does not apply to persons receiving
16 compensation for the following activities:
17 (i) Performing official duties as