Some lawmakers penalized for pot discussion

A legislative ethics panel has thrown out a complaint against state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and others who invited international travel adviser Rick Steves to talk in October at the Capitol about topics that included marijuana.

Steves, who supports decriminalizing marijuana possession, says travel can help people learn about how other cultures address social problems, which can help in the creation of better public policies related to health care, drug laws and other issues.

About $50 of public money was spent on posters publicizing the talk, and Steves gave out copies of a travel book he wrote, the ethics board found.

Not all lawmakers escaped sanctions stemming from complaints brought by activist Rob Kavanaugh of Lacey. The American Civil Liberties Union, which supports decriminalizing marijuana, provided free lunches at the event, and lawmakers who ate the lunches must give back a portion of their “per diem” spending allowance to the state.

It amounts to $18 each for two senators and a Senate staffer and $9.50 each for five representatives.

“I think the whole thing has gotten blown out of proportion,” Kohl-Welles, a Seattle Democrat, said Friday, noting that lawmakers and staff members checked with Senate legal advisers about ethics-law implications to be sure they were on the straight and narrow. “We got permission to do this. There are lunches provided all the time on campus, almost daily, and it has never come up as far as I know.”

House and Senate administrative leaders say they are taking the unusual step of demanding the paybacks only because Kavanaugh has complained so vigorously.

The two senators who paid back $18 are Democrats Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island and Jim Kastama of Puyallup; Haugen’s aide also wrote out a check. The House members who are having money deducted from their next expense check are Democrats Ruth Kagi of Lake Forest Park, Mary Helen Roberts of Edmonds, Deborah Eddy of Kirkland, Mary Lou Dickerson of Seattle and Kevin Van De Wege of Sequim.

“It’s not an ethics issue with the ethics law. It’s a matter of them being reimbursed for something they’re not entitled to,” Secretary of the Senate Tom Hoemann said last month of the then-pending reimbursements.

The House did a more formal, lengthy investigation of the cost of a box lunch – including a drink and cookie – before deciding on a cost of $9.50, House counsel Tim Sekerak said.

“I think I might have had a half of sandwich, and I ended up having $9.50 taken out of my per diem,” Dickerson said last month, adding that she had bigger issues to pay attention to.

“I never mind paying my own way. Just send us the bill,’’ added Haugen, who said it is important to have citizens watching lawmakers’ actions to ensure they toe the ethical line.

The ethics board formally tossed Kavanaugh’s complaint, finding there was no reason to think the ethics in public service act was violated. Kavanaugh complained that $50 of public money was used to pay for 50 posters advertising the event and that Steves handed out free copies of his book.

Legislative Ethics Board Chairman David Draper signed an order that says the gift of books (retail value of $16.95) fell under exemptions in the act, including a $50 gift exemption, and there was no evidence any lawmaker used his or her position for private gain.

The ethics board left alone the question of taking lunches at a time lawmakers also get $90 a day in expenses, known as “per diem,” to cover costs of working at the capital.

Kavanaugh said Friday that he is appealing the board’s decision because it did not address the lunch issue.

Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688

bshannon@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/politicsblog