The university encourages
employees to have good professional relationships with state
and federal elected officials and to be responsive to their
questions and requests for information. University
faculty and staff who work in communities around the state
are particularly encouraged to have contact with public
officials, including local legislators, so they know the
nature of the university programs located in their
legislative district and the assistance WSU can provide in
addressing local needs.
However, many contacts with
elected officials are considered by state and federal law to
be official "lobbying" on behalf of the university. In
these instances, there are restrictions and reporting
requirements on public employees who engage in these
activities.
The university's Government Relations
office is responsible, on behalf of the president, for
assisting employees with any questions regarding contacts
with state and federal officials or political activity,
reporting official lobbying, and ensuring that information
is provided to legislators accurately and timely.
Activities usually considered to
be public lobbying under state law include most face-to-face
meetings with legislators and their staff. Any employee
who is lobbying on university time and/or has any expenses
or informational materials prepared with funds controlled by
WSU is also likely engaged in public lobbying. Other
examples of lobbying include casual or scheduled
conversations with legislators on behalf of the university
or one of its programs while the employee is on the job and
most testimony in Olympia before legislative committees.
Under some circumstances,
conversations with employees that were initiated by the
public official may be considered lobbying activities.
Federal lobbying contact is defined
as "any oral or written communication to a ... legislative
or ... executive branch official with regard to the
formulation, modification or adoption" of federal
legislation, rules, regulation, policies, programs,
executive orders or the administration of a federal program
(including federal contract, grant, license). Federal
lobbying Activities are defined to include all "lobbying
contact and efforts in support of such contacts, including
the preparation and planning of activities, research and
other background work that is intended at the time it is
preformed for use in making such contacts, and coordination
with the Lobbying activities of others."
It is illegal for state employees
to encourage other people and constituencies to contact
state legislators for the purposes of supporting university
positions on state legislation. Information on the status
WSU issues and programs before the Legislature can and
should be shared with grassroots constituencies. But it is
NOT legal for employees working on behalf of WSU to urge
citizens to "call your legislators" to accomplish a
legislative goal for the university.
Contacting Government Relations
in advance of a state or federal lobbying activity is
required, and it may be necessary to officially report
salary, travel, and expense information, the length and
nature of the conversation, and any legislation that is
being influenced.
As a matter of policy, university
employees are discouraged from hosting legislators for
meals, drinks, gifts, or entertainment, especially when
state appropriated funds are involved. There are exceptions
to this policy which should be discussed with the dean or
supervisor and Government Relations.
WSU employees are not permitted to
use university time or resources to promote, or encourage
others to promote, state or federal funding proposals that
are not an official budget request of Washington State
University. This policy applies to telephone calls,
electronic mail, letters, face-to-face conversations, and
other official forms of university communication with
legislators.
WSU employees are not permitted to
use university time or resources to lobby for or against
legislation, unless authorized by the university to
represent these issues. This policy applies to telephone
calls, electronic mail, letters, face-to-face conversations,
and other official forms of university communication with
legislators. This policy does not apply to providing factual
information to public officials or answering questions.
WSU employees cannot legally use
university time or resources to engage in partisan political
activity. Public employees are also forbidden from
campaigning for or against a ballot measure, except to
comment on direct impacts to university programs.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM
LEGISLATORS
It is the responsibility of
university employees to furnish timely answers to lawmakers
and share with them the benefits of faculty education and
research programs.
To assure completeness and accuracy
of the answer from a university perspective, employees are
strongly encouraged to check with Government Relations
before completing the response to elected officials and
their staff.
Statistics and financial numbers about
the university must be checked for accuracy and consistency
by the Budget & Office. Government Relations can assist in
that effort.
Release of research studies and
findings before their publication should be discussed with
the college or campus dean in advance.
Employees should recognize that their
answers to questions might be regarded as "lobbying,"
particularly if the answer is framed to persuasively affect
legislation. If it is lobbying, it must be reported through
the dean, Government Relations, and possibly to the state
Public Disclosure Commission or federal authorities.
Conferring with Government
Relations on legislative concerns is always advisable.
Many of these contacts, by law, need to be reported to the
state Public Disclosure Commission. The dean or
administrator must be aware of such contacts in advance. The
answers must be non-partisan. Factual information should be
provided to all who request it. Information shared with
advocates of point of view should be shared with advocates
of apparently opposing views. The motives of elected
officials or their staff should never be questioned.
PERSONAL OPINIONS EXPRESSED TO
LEGISLATORS
WSU staff and faculty are entitled
to personal opinions, including those contrary to university
or college administrators. Neither WSU nor federal or
state laws restricts an employee's right to express personal
opinions outside the workplace and without the use of
university time or resources.
Employees are asked to recognize that
it is hard for members of the public, including reporters
and legislators, to differentiate between an official
university position and a personal opinion. To many,
individual faculty members and staff are the university.
For our employees' own protection
under state laws, employees should take care to stipulate to
federal, state and local officials that their personal
opinions expressed are their own and not necessarily those
of their employer.
For the employees' own benefit,
employees are strongly urged to consult with the Government
Relations Office. The concern is that if employees
inadvertently cross into communication outside of the
guidelines for a "personal opinion," they and the university
are subject to state lobbying laws, reporting requirements,
and possible fines for engaging in illegal lobbying
activity.
The above consolidated summary
for contact with all public officials is based in part on
the Washington State University Business Policies and
Procedures for federal and state lobbying reporting. To read
the federal policies,
click here. To get the state
policies,
click here. |
