HB 368-ETHICS: LEGISLATIVE & GOV/LT GOV    10:17:35 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of HB 368. [CSHB 368(FIN) AM was before the committee.] She asked Ms. Anderson to tell the committee what this bill needs to accomplish. JOYCE ANDERSON, Administrator, Select Committee on Legislative Ethics, said Sections 1 and 2 of Version N.a were deleted by an amendment at the previous hearing. Section 3 is the gift statute, and her committee recommends relaxing it for immediate family members "because of the strict prohibition last year regarding gifts from lobbyists -- even immediate family members of legislative staffers were not allowed to receive a gift from their spouse or their sibling or parent. And so the ethics committee made a recommendation that that is an unintended consequence, and so we're recommending [it] be changed." 10:18:51 AM SENATOR FRENCH asked, "Does that pertain to just those spouses and immediate family members who are lobbyists, or all family members?" MS. ANDERSON said it pertains to just those spouses who are lobbyists. "Lobbyist spouses or immediate family members, which would be a parent/child and siblings. Also, since legislators are not allowed, by statute last year, to have a spouse who is a [registered lobbyist], they were not included in this." CHAIR MCGUIRE said, "We haven't done anything to change the old rule that you can give gifts to each other within a family unit with no lobbyist, so long as they are not intended to influence you." "This is simply for the case of a member that has an immediate family member who's a lobbyist?" MS. ANDERSON said that is correct. Section 4 refers to interns and volunteers, "and all we did in that section was split the two; there's absolutely no language change at all." Section 5 is the split of Section 4 and 5. Section 6 changes the summaries of public decisions, which have to do with complaints and advisory opinions from a semiannual publication to an annual one. The committee has not published semiannual reports since 2001, "so it is a change to just make it to current practice." Section 7 was recommended by the committee to add a third fine structure. There is one fine of $2.00 per day up to a maximum of $100.00 for a late disclosure, and a $25.00 fine for an inadvertent late disclosure. "The ethics committee is suggesting that there be a very hefty fine when there is a willful late disclosure." That will go to $100.00 per day and up to a maximum of $2,500.00. It is based on an experience from last year. 10:21:48 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE said Amendment 1 deleted portions of the bill that are in HB 305. She withdrew Amendment 2 from the prior meeting. SENATOR STEVENS asked about the definition of willful. MS. ANDERSON said there is a definition in statute. A former legislator refused to file the end-of-service disclosures. He refused a certified letter. He signed for the second one, and said he would not file the disclosures. The committee issued a fine, and he will not pay it. He hung up on her. Because the maximum fine was only $100.00 for each fine, the Attorney General's office will not follow up because it is not over $500.00. The ethics committee feels there needs to be some teeth in the ethics law for those leaving. 10:24:36 AM SENATOR FRENCH moved to report CSHB 368(FIN), as amended, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There being no objection, SCS CSHB 368(STA) moved out of committee.