RCW 42.52: Washington’s Ethics in Public Service Act

Washington’s Ethics in Public Service Act, codified at RCW 42.52, sets the rules that keep personal interests from steering state government decisions. It applies to every state officer and state employee across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and it covers gifts, outside jobs, use of state property, campaign activity, confidential information, and what a person can do after they leave state service. Violations carry civil penalties of up to $5,000 per incident or three times the economic value of what was gained, whichever is greater.¹

The act does not reach local officials. City council members, school board directors, mayors, and other local government employees fall outside its scope, and the state ethics boards will not accept complaints against them.²

Who Is Covered

RCW 42.52.010 defines “state officer” broadly. As of January 1, 2026, that includes judges at every level of the state court system, supreme court justices, legislators, the secretary of the senate, the chief clerk of the house, holders of elected executive offices, heads of state agencies, members of boards and commissions with authority over state agencies, and any state employee doing supervisory or policy-making work.³ Someone who is exercising or attempting to exercise the powers of a state officer is treated as one even before formally taking the position.

State employees who don’t fit any officer category are still bound by the act. A clerk in a district court office faces the same core obligations as a policy analyst inside a governor’s agency.

Using State Resources for Private Purposes

RCW 42.52.160 prohibits state officers and employees from using any person, money, or property under their official control for their own private benefit or for anyone else’s.⁴ That covers state vehicles, office computers, and printers, but it reaches staff time too. Directing a subordinate to handle personal errands during work hours violates this provision.

The rule leaves room for reality. Ethics boards may adopt rules allowing occasional personal use of state resources when the cost and value are minimal and the activity does not interfere with official duties. Answering a quick personal email on a work computer is not the same as running a side business from a state office.

Campaign Activity

RCW 42.52.180 draws a separate, sharper line around political campaigns. No state officer or employee may use or authorize the use of agency facilities to assist any campaign for office or to promote or oppose a ballot proposition.⁵ “Facilities” is defined broadly: stationery, postage, machines, equipment, vehicles, office space, agency publications, and client lists all count. A supervisor who knowingly lets a subordinate use these resources for campaign purposes violates the statute as well.

Two narrow exceptions exist. Elected officials may state support for or opposition to a ballot proposition at an open press conference or in response to a specific inquiry, provided the response does not involve a measurable expenditure of public funds. Members of an elected legislative body may collectively vote on or express a position about a ballot proposition during an open public meeting, with public notice given and roughly equal time for both sides.

Gift Limits

Effective January 1, 2026, RCW 42.52.150 sets a single-source gift limit of $100 in aggregate value per calendar year.⁶ The former companion provision, RCW 42.52.140, was repealed. Anything above the limit is prohibited unless it falls into one of the statute’s exclusions.

Several categories are excluded from the definition of “gift” and don’t count toward the cap:

Items from relatives or friends where it’s clear the gift wasn’t designed to gain or maintain influence over the recipient’s agency.
Customary items related to the recipient’s private business that are unrelated to official duties.
Reasonable travel, lodging, and meal expenses paid by a governmental or nongovernmental entity for a speech or presentation given in an official capacity, limited to the day before through the day after the event.
Enrollment fees and reasonable travel expenses for seminars sponsored by a bona fide government, nonprofit, professional, educational, trade, or charitable organization.
Campaign contributions reported under Title 29B RCW.
Anything returned to the donor or donated to charity within 30 days of receipt.

Certain unsolicited items are also presumed not to influence the recipient and may be accepted regardless of the $100 cap: promotional items of nominal value such as pens and notepads, plaques and trophies given as tokens of appreciation, informational publications related to official duties, and food and beverages consumed at receptions connected to official work.

Financial Interests, Special Privileges, and Confidential Information

RCW 42.52.030 bars state officers and employees from holding a beneficial interest in any contract, sale, lease, purchase, or grant that is made by, through, or under their supervision. They also cannot accept compensation or gratuities from anyone else who has a beneficial interest in such a transaction. A contract made in violation of this provision is voidable at the state’s option, meaning the state can cancel it entirely.⁷ The same section also prevents official-capacity dealings with any entity where the officer or employee serves as an officer, agent, employee, or member, or in which they hold a beneficial interest.

RCW 42.52.070 addresses a different form of self-dealing. No state officer or employee may use their position to secure special privileges or exemptions for themselves, their spouse, children, parents, or anyone else, except as required to perform their actual job duties.⁸ This is the provision that catches someone leveraging a title or access to skip a line, waive a fee, or steer a benefit to a family member.

Confidential information gets its own protection under RCW 42.52.050. A state officer or employee cannot disclose confidential information gained through their position for personal gain or for anyone else’s benefit, and they cannot accept outside employment that would foreseeably require unauthorized disclosures.⁹ Intentionally concealing a record required to be released under the Public Records Act is also a violation, unless the withholding decision was made in good faith.

Outside Employment

The act does not prohibit outside work, but RCW 42.52.120 attaches conditions. A state officer or employee may accept compensation from an outside contract or grant only if the work is bona fide and actually performed, falls outside the scope of their official duties, is not performed for or paid by anyone from whom gifts are restricted, and would not require unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.¹⁰

Wanting a beneficial interest in a contract or grant with one’s own state agency adds a further hurdle. The contract must be awarded through an open and competitive bidding process with more than one bid received, or the appropriate ethics board must advise in writing that the arrangement would not conflict with official duties. Any contract or grant awarded under these conditions must be filed with the ethics board within 30 days of execution.

Post-Employment Restrictions

RCW 42.52.080 layers three separate restrictions on former state officers and employees.

The one-year restriction blocks a former officer or employee from accepting employment or compensation from an employer if, during the two years before leaving state service, they were involved in negotiating or administering a contract worth more than $10,000 with that employer and had discretionary decision-making authority over the contract, and the new role involves fulfilling or implementing that same contract.¹¹ All three conditions must be met. Employment with a state employee organization is explicitly exempted.

The two-year restriction is narrower. Former officers and employees cannot hold a direct or indirect beneficial interest in a contract or grant that was expressly authorized or funded by specific legislative or executive action in which they personally participated.

The permanent restriction has no expiration. A former state officer or employee may never assist another person, whether or not for compensation, in any transaction involving the state in which they participated during their government service. The law also prohibits accepting employment offered as a reward for favorable action taken while in government, or where a reasonable person would view the offer that way. Even when the contract-based restrictions don’t technically apply, an employment offer that looks like a thank-you for past official conduct is still illegal.

Who Enforces the Act and What the Penalties Are

Ethics enforcement is split among three bodies, each matched to a branch of government:

The Executive Ethics Board covers statewide elected officers, all other officers and employees in the executive branch, boards and commissions, and institutions of higher education.²
The Legislative Ethics Board covers legislators and legislative staff.¹²
The Commission on Judicial Conduct handles ethical matters involving judicial officers.

Each board can investigate complaints, issue advisory opinions, and impose sanctions when a violation is confirmed. The maximum civil penalty is $5,000 per violation or three times the economic value of whatever was received or sought, whichever is greater.¹ The multiplier matters. Someone who steers a $50,000 contract to their own company faces a potential penalty of $150,000, not a flat $5,000 fine.

Filing a Complaint and Whistleblower Protection

Anyone can file a complaint with the Executive Ethics Board using the online form on the board’s website. Complaints against an agency as an entity rather than a specific person are not accepted.²

State employees who file complaints have whistleblower protection under RCW 42.52.410. An agency, manager, or supervisor may not retaliate against an employee who files an ethics complaint after making a reasonable effort to verify the information, and those protections apply even if the ethics board ultimately declines to investigate. Retaliation can itself trigger a civil penalty of up to $5,000 against the retaliator. The identity of the person who filed the complaint is exempt from public disclosure.

1
Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.480
2
Washington State Executive Ethics Board. File a Complaint
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.010 – Definitions
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 42.52.160 – Use of Persons, Money, or Property for Private Gain
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.180 – Use of Public Resources for Political Campaigns
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.150 – Limitations on Gifts
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.030 – Financial Interests in Transactions
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.070 – Special Privileges
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52 – Ethics in Public Service
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.120 – Outside Compensation for Official Duties
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Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 42.52.080 – Employment After Public Service
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.52.310 – Legislative Ethics Board