A bill that would clarify state ethics law for certain university employees who engage student athletes in activities involving their name, image, and likeness (NIL) passed unanimously out of the House State Government and Tribal Relations commitee this afternoon.
On Valentine’s Day the committee heard Senate Bill 5913 which is sponsored by Senator Javier Valdez. The law follows changes to NCAA guidelines adopted in 2021 that allow student-athletes to engage in NIL activities.
SB 5913 would clarify that public university employees in Washington are not prohibited from using public resources to advise, facilitate, acknowledge, or educate about NIL and student athletes seeking to benefit from it, so long as those resources are within the discretion of the employee. The Ethics in Public Service Act regulates public employee activity and is currently ambiguous about these sorts of activities.
WSU has supported the bill this session, which passed the Senate almost unanimously. The bill now needs to pass the House floor ahead of Sine Die on March 7th.