HOUSE BILL 1783
State of Washington | 69th Legislature | 2025 Regular Session |
ByRepresentatives Mendoza, Springer, Corry, Dufault, Jacobsen, Manjarrez, Orcutt, Dent, Walen, Connors, Schmidt, Barnard, McClintock, Eslick, Klicker, Ley, Barkis, Engell, and Davis
Read first time 02/03/25.Referred to Committee on Postsecondary Education & Workforce.
AN ACT Relating to law enforcement officers participating in college and technical school programs; amending RCW
42.52.120; adding a new section to chapter
28B.50 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the Washington state board of community and technical colleges in the September 2024 law enforcement and corrections workforce needs assessment reported that several criminal justice instructors had difficulty establishing relationships with local law enforcement on behalf of students seeking connections. A central recommendation emerging from the research study is to rebuild relationships between the institutions that educate future public servants and the local agencies that employ them. This bill intends to provide an incentive for law enforcement officers to participate when college instructors ask for law enforcement to share real life expertise in their courses.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter
28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The legislature finds that involvement by certified law enforcement officers in college and technical school programs can help improve the image of law enforcement within communities throughout the state, create positive interactions with potential recruits, and inspire individuals to consider a career in law enforcement. A law enforcement officer's duties do not include any obligation to interact with college and technical school programs in such a manner.
(2) An institution of higher education, as defined in RCW
28B.10.016, may engage a general or limited authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW
10.93.020 to receive honoraria for delivering presentations as part of a criminal justice associate, law enforcement, police science, financial forensics and fraud, or forensic science and technology course. Such payment is only appropriate when the presentation occurs outside of the law enforcement officer's official duties.
Sec. 3. RCW
42.52.120 and 1997 c 318 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No state officer or state employee may receive any thing of economic value under any contract or grant outside of his or her official duties. The prohibition in this subsection does not apply where the state officer or state employee has complied with RCW
42.52.030((
(2))) or each of the following conditions are met:
(a) The contract or grant is bona fide and actually performed;
(b) The performance or administration of the contract or grant is not within the course of the officer's or employee's official duties, or is not under the officer's or employee's official supervision;
(c) The performance of the contract or grant is not prohibited by RCW
42.52.040 or by applicable laws or rules governing outside employment for the officer or employee;
(d) The contract or grant is neither performed for nor compensated by any person from whom such officer or employee would be prohibited by RCW
42.52.150(4) from receiving a gift;
(e) The contract or grant is not one expressly created or authorized by the officer or employee in his or her official capacity;
(f) The contract or grant would not require unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
(2) In addition to satisfying the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, a state officer or state employee may have a beneficial interest in a grant or contract or a series of substantially identical contracts or grants with a state agency only if:
(a) The contract or grant is awarded or issued as a result of an open and competitive bidding process in which more than one bid or grant application was received; or
(b) The contract or grant is awarded or issued as a result of an open and competitive bidding or selection process in which the officer's or employee's bid or proposal was the only bid or proposal received and the officer or employee has been advised by the appropriate ethics board, before execution of the contract or grant, that the contract or grant would not be in conflict with the proper discharge of the officer's or employee's official duties; or
(c) The process for awarding the contract or issuing the grant is not open and competitive, but the officer or employee has been advised by the appropriate ethics board that the contract or grant would not be in conflict with the proper discharge of the officer's or employee's official duties.
(3) A state officer or state employee awarded a contract or issued a grant in compliance with subsection (2) of this section shall file the contract or grant with the appropriate ethics board within thirty days after the date of execution; however, if proprietary formulae, designs, drawings, or research are included in the contract or grant, the proprietary formulae, designs, drawings, or research may be deleted from the contract or grant filed with the appropriate ethics board.
(4) This section does not prevent a state officer or state employee from receiving compensation contributed from the treasury of the United States, another state, county, or municipality if the compensation is received pursuant to arrangements entered into between such state, county, municipality, or the United States and the officer's or employee's agency. This section does not prohibit a state officer or state employee from serving or performing any duties under an employment contract with a governmental entity.
(5) As used in this section, "officer" and "employee" do not include officers and employees who, in accordance with the terms of their employment or appointment, are serving without compensation from the state of Washington or are receiving from the state only reimbursement of expenses incurred or a predetermined allowance for such expenses.
(6) This section does not prevent a general or limited authority Washington peace officer as defined in RCW 10.93.020 from receiving honoraria when delivering presentations as part of a criminal justice associate, law enforcement, police science, financial forensics and fraud, or forensic science and technology course in accordance with section 2 of this act. --- END ---