3.12.030 Ethical Standards and Prohibited Practices Enumerated.
A. Use of Position and Resources.
1. Use of Position. County personnel shall not use their offices or positions, or any confidential information received thereby, to secure anything of value, personal benefit or special privilege or exception for themselves, immediate family member, or any other person with whom the County personnel has a relationship. This prohibition includes efforts to influence other County personnel to obtain such items.
2. Use of County Resources. County personnel shall not use or permit the use of County resources for any private purpose, including: the personal benefit or convenience of the County personnel, commercial purposes, financial gain, or present or future employment, except in the conduct of official business.
3. Use of Employees. County personnel shall not use, request, or permit the use of County employee services during County time except in the conduct of official business. In addition, County personnel shall not employ or solicit the use of any person under their direction or control for personal benefit, gain, or profit.
4. Certain Private Employment Prohibited. County personnel shall not engage in or accept private employment or render services for any private interest when such employment or service is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or would tend to impair independence of judgment or action in the performance of official duties.
B. Acceptance of Anything of Value.
1. County personnel shall not accept anything of value or honoraria, other than compensation provided by law or as authorized in this Code, for actions connected with or related to the County personnel's performance of their County duties or functions.
2. County personnel shall not, directly or indirectly, receive, accept or solicit anything of value for themselves, members of their immediate family, domestic partners or members of the domestic partner's immediate family, or business with which they are associated if it could reasonably be perceived that the thing of value could appear to influence the County personnel's decision, vote, action, inaction or judgment, or be considered as part of a reward for such decision, vote, action or inaction.
3. County personnel or candidates for elected County office shall not accept gifts with an aggregate value in excess of $50.00 from a single source in a calendar year or a single gift from multiple sources with a value in excess of $50.00. For purposes of this Section, "single source" means any person, as defined in PCC 3.12.020, whether acting directly or through any agent or other intermediary, and "single gift" includes any event, item, or group of items used in conjunction with each other or any trip including transportation, lodging, and attendant costs, not excluded from the definition of gift. The value of gifts given to an employee or candidate's family member or guest shall be attributed to the employee or candidate for the purpose of determining whether the limit has been exceeded, unless an independent business, family, or social relationship exists between the donor and the family member or guest.
C. Election and Campaign Activities.
1. County personnel, which includes elected County officials, or candidate for elected County office, shall not solicit or encourage, directly or indirectly, any political contribution from any County personnel.
2. Elected County officials or candidate for elected County office shall not knowingly accept any monetary contribution from County personnel in excess of $250.00 per candidate per calendar year.
3. Subsection C.2. shall not apply to contributions by County personnel who are members of the immediate family of the elected official or candidate; provided, further, that each such contribution by County personnel shall be clearly identified by the donor as having been made by County personnel so that the candidate and/or the candidate's political organization can verify that the funds received are not in excess of the $250.00 per calendar year limitation. This limitation on contributions is not intended to prohibit County personnel from voluntarily participating during off-duty hours in political activities on behalf of a candidate for County office.
4. County personnel shall not use or authorize the use of facilities or resources of the County, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting or opposing a campaign for election of a person to an office or for the promotion of or opposition to a ballot proposition, including initiative, referendum, or any related activities, except to the extent otherwise authorized by law. Knowing acquiescence by a person with authority to direct, control, or influence the action of the County personnel using public resources in violation of this Section constitutes a violation of this Section. This provision is not intended to replace or supersede requirements or prohibitions of Chapter 42.17A RCW et seq., which may otherwise apply to County employees and/or officials.
5. Restrictions on Mailings by Elected or Appointed Officials.
a. In any year of a general election for an office for which a County elected or appointed official is a candidate, the County elected or appointed official may not mail after April 30 through November 30 immediately following the General Election, either by regular mail or electronic mail, to a constituent at public expense a letter, newsletter, brochure, or other piece of literature, except as follows:
(1) A County elected or appointed official may mail an individual letter to:
(a) An individual constituent who has contacted the County elected or appointed official regarding the subject matter of the letter during the County elected or appointed official's current term of office;
(b) An individual constituent who holds governmental office with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the letter; or
(c) An individual constituent who has received an award or honor of extraordinary distinction of a type that is sufficiently infrequent to be noteworthy to a reasonable person.
b. The mailing restriction in subsection C.5.a. does not apply to mailings by an elected or appointed official that are legally required of the elected or appointed official, such as the distribution of a voter's pamphlet, ballots or tax statements.
c. For purposes of this subsection, "County elected or appointed official" means a County elected or appointed official who is a "candidate," as defined in RCW 42.17A.005, for any public office.
d. For purposes of this subsection, persons residing outside Pierce County are not considered to be constituents, but students, military personnel, or others temporarily employed outside Pierce County who normally reside in Pierce County are considered to be constituents.
e. A violation of this subsection constitutes use of public facilities for the purpose of assisting or opposing a campaign under RCW 42.17A.555.
D. Confidential Information.
1. Disclosure of Confidential Information Prohibited. County personnel shall not disclose, cause or permit disclosure of, or use any confidential, privileged, or proprietary information gained by reason of their positions for a purpose which is for other than a County purpose, except as authorized in the scope of their employment.
2. Use/Disclosure of Information after County Service. Former County personnel shall not, during the period of one year after leaving County office or employment, disclose or use any information gained by reason of their County employment to obtain anything of value for themselves or for any other person unless the information is already a matter of public knowledge.
E. Beneficial Interests in Contracts Prohibited.
1. Pursuant to RCW 42.23.030, no County personnel may be beneficially interested, directly or indirectly, in a contract, sale, lease, purchase, or grant that may be made by, through, or under the supervision of the personnel, in whole or in part, or which may be made for the benefit of their office.
2. County personnel may not accept, directly or indirectly, any compensation, gratuity, or reward from any other person beneficially interested in the aforementioned contract, sale, lease, purchase, or grant.
3. County personnel may not participate in a transaction involving the County in their official capacity with a person or business with which the individual is associated.
F. Ethics Code Protections.
1. County personnel shall not engage in or aid and abet any act of reprisal against any person as a consequence of that person's having made a report of violation to the Ethics Commission. Institution of formal court proceedings shall not be considered an act of reprisal.
2. County personnel shall not knowingly and intentionally induce or coerce or attempt to induce or coerce anyone to violate any provision of this Code of Ethics.
3. County personnel shall not knowingly file a false charge or report of violation of this Code of Ethics with the Hearing Officer.