Advisory Opinion 95-11-1140

Council/Boardmember Appointment

ISSUE: WHETHER IT IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST FOR AN ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SERVE ON THE HARBORVIEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES?

Opinion: The Board of Ethics finds no conflict of interest; provided that such member recuses from discussions, deliberations, and votes relating to the Management and Operations Contract between the Trustees and the Board of Regents of the University when an issue arises requiring Trustee action concerning interpretation of the terms and conditions of the Management and Operations Contract, or the rights and obligations of the parties with regard to the Management and Operations Contract.

Statement of Circumstances: The Harborview Board of Trustees is the representative authority of county government with regard to the Harborview Medical Center, a research and teaching hospital operated by the University of Washington. The legal responsibilities of the Trustees and the University are defined in a management and operations contract between the two entities. The statutory legal counsel for the Trustees is the King County Prosecuting Attorney. The statutory legal counsel for the University is the Attorney General for the State of Washington.

The Trustees are 13 members and are nominated by each member of the King County Council. A Councilmember nominated an Assistant Attorney General for membership on the board. The nominee is assigned to the Seattle torts division on a team of attorneys that handle a variety of tort matters, including tort litigation for the University; although, this nominee has never represented or been involved in University or Harborview cases. However, the fact that the nominee is nonetheless employed by the statutory legal counsel for the University raises the question of whether such employment would conflict with his service on a board which represents the county's interests?

Analysis: The King County Code contains specific provisions relating to conflicts which would render a person ineligible to serve on the Harborview Board of Trustees. K.C.C. 2.42.040(c) provides that:

No person shall be eligible for appointment as a member of the board who holds or has held during the period of two years immediately prior to appointment, any salaried office or position in any office, department or branch of county government or of any organization with which a contract for the operation or administration of the medical center has been executed. All candidates shall be required to disclose any information concerning actions or activities of the candidate or his/her immediate family which present a potential conflict of interest. Candidates whose employment, financial interests, and/or other transactions are determined by the appointing officials to be in conflict with the interests of the medical center, will be ineligible for board membership.

This provision effectively prohibits membership for either King County or University of Washington employees for a period of two years after leaving such employment. With regard to King County conflict of interest provisions, K.C.C. 3.04.030(H) provides that a county employee, which includes board and commission members, shall have a conflict of interest if the employee directly or indirectly:

Is an employee, agent, officer, partner, director or consultant of any person doing or seeking to do business with the county, unless such relationship has been disclosed as provided by this chapter.

While K.C.C. 3.04.030(I) establishes a conflict if an employee:

Engages in or accepts compensation or renders services for any person or a governmental entity other than King County when such employment or service is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or would impair independence of judgment or action in the performance of official duties.

The nominee has clearly met the disclosure requirements of K.C.C. 3.04.030(H). However, the Board has found that while disclosure may be a sufficient remedy in instances where outside employment is unrelated to an employee's official duties and responsibilities (Advisory Opinion 1114), it is not sufficient to dispose of conflicts when there is a relationship between the outside employer and the county agency where the employee does exercise official duties and responsibilities (Advisory Opinion 1104). Furthermore, the Board has precluded disclosure as a remedy when board or commission members represent specific interests that may be affected by official actions of a county board or commission (Advisory Opinion 1022), and has recommended both disclosure and recusal as the means to avoid potential or actual conflicts of interest (Advisory Opinion 1081).

In this case a potential conflict of interest is posed by the nominee's employment with the Attorney General's Office, and the fact that the Attorney General represents the University in its legal matters, including those which relate to the Management and Operations Contract with the Harborview Board of Trustees. The Board of Ethics finds no conflict of interest; provided that such member recuses from discussions, deliberations, and votes relating to the Management and Operations Contract between the Trustees and the Board of Regents of the University when an issue arises requiring Trustee action concerning interpretation of the terms and conditions of the Management and Operations Contract, or the rights and obligations of the parties with regard to the Management and Operations Contract.

References: K.C.C. 2.42, King County Code of Ethics, subsections 3.04.030(H) and (I); Advisory Opinions 1022, 1081, 1104, and 1114.

ISSUED THIS ___________ DAY OF ___________________, 199__.

Signed for the Board: Timothy G. Edwards, Chair

Members:

Timothy G. Edwards, Chair
Rev. Paul Pruitt
Ron Carlson
Dr. Lois Price Spratlen

TGE/mag

cc:

Gary Locke, King County Executive
King County Councilmembers
Members, Harborview Board of Trustees
David Krull, Director-Ombudsman, Office of Citizen Complaints
Robert I. Stier, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Counsel to the Board of Ethics