The state board that just ordered a sitting lawmaker to pay roughly $52,000 in ethics penalties returns to the Capitol Campus on Thursday, Sept. 10, with unfinished business on its agenda.

Washington's Legislative Ethics Board will continue deliberating Advisory Opinion 26-1, a formal guidance document the nine-member panel first took up at its July 11 meeting. The subject of the opinion has not been made public. No 2026 advisory opinions have been published on the Legislature's ethics advisory opinions page as of Sept. 8.

Advisory opinions are formal board guidance on whether certain conduct violates the Ethics in Public Service Act. The board's three 2025 opinions addressed topics including the use of state resources to produce items identifying lawmakers for public distribution and whether legislative staff may engage in caucus social media posts.

Thursday's agenda also includes discussion of a possible rule amendment. No details on the proposed change have been released.

The public portion of the meeting will include a testimony period before the board moves into a closed executive session on pending complaints. The specific complaints on the docket have not been identified.

Twelve complaint opinions in 2026

The board, which enforces ethics laws covering legislators and legislative employees, has issued at least 12 complaint opinions so far in 2026, according to the Legislature's complaint opinions page. Respondents include Rep. Tarra Simmons, Sen. Nobles, Rep. Julio Cortes, Joel McEntire, Rep. Thai and Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, among others.

The highest-profile case involved Simmons, a Democrat. The board's final order, dated Aug. 28, required her to pay roughly $52,000 for three violations of conflict-of-interest and special-privilege laws. That total included $15,000 in fines and $37,457.98 in staff and legal costs, KUOW reported. The board conducted a rare two-day public hearing in June before issuing its findings.

"People shouldn't be excessively punished when they actually prevail," Simmons told KUOW in early September, responding to the order. She has 90 days to pay and 30 days from service to seek court review.

Meeting details

The board is based at 223 Sid Snyder Ave. SW, Room 215, in Olympia. Thursday's meeting will be broadcast on TVW. No start time was listed in the agenda posting.

Residents who want to offer testimony should monitor the board's page on leg.wa.gov for updates on timing and format.