H-3747.2          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 2376

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1992 Regular Session

By Representatives Hine, Prince, Anderson, Miller, Pruitt, G. Fisher, Cooper, Jacobsen, Winsley, Brough, Jones, Heavey, Paris, Wineberry, Roland, G. Cole, J. Kohl, Ludwig, Mitchell, Bowman, Wynne, Spanel, Ogden, Haugen, Valle, McLean, Ferguson, Sprenkle and O'Brien

Read first time 01/15/92.  Referred to Committee on State Government.Requiring a statement of responsibility to accompany political advertising.

     AN ACT Relating to political advertising; and amending RCW 42.17.510.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

     Sec. 1.  RCW 42.17.510 and 1984 c 216 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

     (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, all written political advertising, whether relating to candidates or ballot propositions, shall include the sponsor's name and address.  All radio and television political advertising, whether relating to candidates or ballot propositions, shall include the sponsor's name.  The use of an assumed name shall be unlawful.  The party with which a candidate files shall be clearly identified in political advertising for partisan office.

     (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, all written political advertising shall include the following signed statement:  "I fully accept responsibility for the accuracy of this message."  The statement shall be signed by the responsible party.  All radio or television political advertising shall include the statement:  "I, (name of the responsible party), fully accept responsibility for the accuracy of this message."

For the purposes of this subsection, the "responsible party" is as follows:  If the sponsor of the advertising is a candidate or the political committee of a candidate, the candidate is the responsible party; if the sponsor of the advertising is a political committee other than the political committee of a candidate, the chairperson or other chief officer of the committee is the responsible party, unless the committee has no such chairperson or chief officer in which case the committee's treasurer is the responsible party; and if the advertising is paid for by an independent campaign expenditure, as defined in RCW 42.17.100, the sponsor of the  advertising is the responsible party.

(3) Political yard signs are exempt from the requirement of subsection (1) of this section that the name and address of the sponsor of political advertising be listed on the advertising and from the requirements of subsection (2) of this section.  In addition, the public disclosure commission shall, by rule, exempt from the identification requirements of subsection (1) of this section and from the requirements of subsection (2) of this section forms of political advertising such as campaign buttons, balloons, pens, pencils, sky-writing, inscriptions, and other forms of advertising where the identification or statement is impractical.

     (((3))) (4) For the purposes of this section, "yard sign" means any outdoor sign with dimensions no greater than eight feet by four feet.