H-4886

AN ACT Relating to campaign financing; amending RCW 42.17.095, 42.17.390, and 42.17.243; adding new sections to chapter 42.17 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 29.80 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 44.60 RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 42.17.100, 42.17.105, and 42.17.175; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. INTENT. The sovereign people of the state of Washington find:

That the integrity of the electoral process is essential to the preservation of a free and democratic society;

That the costs of conducting campaigns for office have become alarmingly high;

That pressure on candidates to raise and spend large sums of money has created a political climate in which special interest groups can exercise a corrupting influence on the electoral process, and that the public's perception of this corrupting influence reduces the credibility of public officials, undermines the public's trust in government, and threatens the integrity of the electoral process;

That limitations on both campaign contributions and expenditures are necessary in order to prevent corruption and protect the integrity of the electoral process, as well as to ensure fair political competition between incumbent office holders and their challengers and to encourage citizen participation in the electoral process; and

That the people have broad powers to establish the precise amount of contribution ceilings, so long as the ceilings are reasonable and do not violate First Amendment rights, and that it is appropriate to provide an incentive to candidates wherein the candidates may accept larger contributions if they agree to abide by overall spending ceilings.

For these reasons, the people enact this campaign finance reform law, placing ceilings on the amount that special interest groups and others can contribute to political campaigns and providing an incentive method for limiting campaign spending.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. APPLICATION. (1) The provisions of this act regarding campaign contributions and campaign expenditures apply to each candidate for state office.

Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the provisions of this act regarding campaign contributions apply, beginning July 1, 1995, to each candidate for elective office in a unit of local government in this state.

(2) The provisions of this act regarding campaign contributions do not apply to a candidate for an office of a unit of local government or to contributions to the candidate if the unit of local government:

(a) Contains fewer than five thousand registered voters, as of the date of the most recent general election in that unit of government, and does not encompass an entire county; or

(b) Establishes and has in effect contribution and spending limits for candidates for its elective offices.

PART I - CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITATIONS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS. (1) No person may make contributions to a candidate, and no candidate may accept contributions, except during the campaign period for the election for which contributions are accepted or made.

(2) No person, other than a political party organization or a caucus of the state legislature, may make contributions to a candidate for public office that in the aggregate exceed one hundred dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. No candidate for public office may accept contributions from a person or committee that exceed in the aggregate the contribution limitations provided by this subsection for that person or committee.

(3) No political party organization may make contributions to a candidate for public office that in the aggregate exceed two hundred dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. No candidate for public office may accept contributions from a political party organization that in the aggregate exceed the contribution limitations provided by this subsection for that organization.

(4) No caucus of the state legislature may make contributions to such a candidate that in the aggregate exceed two hundred dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. No candidate for public office may accept contributions from a caucus of the state legislature that in aggregate exceed the contribution limitations provided by this subsection for that caucus.

(5) No candidate may accept contributions from political action committees that in aggregate exceed one‑fourth of the total of all contributions received by the candidate by the end of the campaign period.

(6) Except with respect to loans made in the ordinary course of business, no corporation or labor organization may make a contribution reportable under this chapter, other than a contribution for or against a ballot proposition, or to a single political action committee established by the corporation or labor organization. No candidate or political committee may accept a contribution in violation of this subsection.

(7) Notwithstanding the other subsections of this section, a political committee that is located outside of the state must have received during the previous or current calendar year contributions of ten dollars or more from each of at least one hundred registered voters in the state in order to be permitted to make contributions within the state to a candidate or political committee except to ballot issue committees. No candidate or political committee may knowingly accept a contribution that is prohibited by this subsection.

(8) For purposes of this chapter, a contribution by a person controlled by any other person is a contribution by the controlling person. A contribution to a person controlled by another person is a contribution to the controlling person. This does not apply: To the relationship between an individual and the spouse of the individual; or to the relationship between a bona fide political party and a district or county organization of that party or a caucus of the state legislature of that party.

(9) No person may make contributions to the public office fund of a public official established under RCW 42.17.243 that in the aggregate exceeds two hundred dollars per year. No public official may accept contributions that exceed the limitations of this subsection.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. CONTRIBUTIONS DURING LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS‑‑INCUMBENT MAILINGS DURING CAMPAIGN PERIOD. (1) During the period beginning on the fifteenth day before the date a regular legislative session convenes and continuing thirty days past the date of final adjournment, no state‑wide elected state official or state legislator may solicit or accept contributions to a campaign fund or political committee. The provisions of this subsection do not apply during a recall campaign period to a subject of the recall.

(2) During a campaign period for a state legislative office, no incumbent to that office may mail or transmit to a constituent at public expense a letter, newsletter, brochure, other piece of literature, or electronic media that is not in direct response to that constituent's request for a response or for information. However, one mailing within thirty days after the start of a regular legislative session and one mailing within sixty days after the end of a regular legislative session of identical newsletters to constituents are permitted. A violation of this subsection constitutes use of the facilities of a public office for the purpose of assisting a campaign, for the purposes of RCW 42.17.130.

PART II - CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. EXPENDITURE LIMITS FOR CANDIDATES UNDER AGREEMENT. (1) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the expenditure limit for an election cycle for a candidate for state office who agrees to the limitations established in this chapter is:

(a) For governor, two million dollars;

(b) For the office of judge of the state supreme court and for state executive office other than governor, five hundred thousand dollars;

(c) For the office of judge of the state court of appeals or superior court and for a member of the state senate, eighty thousand dollars; and

(d) For a member of the state house of representatives, fifty thousand dollars.

(2) Any candidate, whether subject to an expenditure limitation or not, must notify the commission and any other candidates for the same office in writing within twenty-four hours after that candidate accepts contributions or makes expenditures that in the aggregate exceed an expenditure limitation for the office.

(3) A candidate for an office who has agreed to expenditure limits for an office under section 7 of this act is not subject to the expenditure limitations of this chapter if, during the election cycle, another candidate for that office:

(a) Enters into an expenditure limitation agreement under section 7 of this act, but expends more than allowed under an applicable expenditure limit; or

(b) Does not enter into an expenditure limitation agreement, but accepts contributions or makes expenditures that in aggregate exceed an expenditure limitation for the office.

(4) A candidate for an office is not subject to the expenditure limitations of this chapter if the commission determines that, during the election cycle, the sum of (a) the expenditures of, or contributions (remaining unexpended) to, any one other candidate for the same office, (b) independent expenditures clearly favoring that other candidate, and (c) independent expenditures clearly opposing the candidate but not clearly favoring any other candidate, exceeds the expenditure limitation for the office sought by the candidate. The commission, or its designee, may make such a determination on its own authority, but must decide on such a determination within three business days of receiving a written request from an affected candidate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. LIMITATIONS ON CANDIDATE'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO OWN CAMPAIGN. (1) A candidate who enters an expenditure limitation agreement under section 7 of this act shall not make expenditures or contributions from his or her personal funds for or to his or her campaign aggregating in excess of the following:

(a) For governor, seventy‑five thousand dollars;

(b) For the office of judge of the state supreme court and for state executive office other than governor, twenty‑five thousand dollars;

(c) For the office of judge of the state court of appeals or superior court and for a member of the state senate, eight thousand dollars; and

(d) For a member of the state house of representatives, five thousand dollars.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, any loan to, outstanding credit balance of, contract of, or other encumbrance on the authorized committee of the candidate that remains unpaid over sixty days shall be considered a contribution of a candidate's personal funds to her or his campaign.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. VOLUNTARY EXPENDITURE LIMIT AGREEMENT. Within thirty days after becoming a candidate or within three business days of filing for office, whichever is earlier, a candidate for state office shall sign and file with the commission a statement of acceptance or rejection of the expenditure limitation agreement below. The form of the statement and agreement shall be provided by the commission by rule.

A candidate who files a statement of acceptance under this section shall also agree in that statement to: Abide by the limitations imposed by section 6 of this act and to any other expenditure limitation applicable under sections 5 and 6 of this act to the person as a candidate for that office; and comply fully with the fair campaign practices code adopted by the commission as the code exists at the time the statement is filed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. ALTERNATIVE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS. A candidate who signs and files a statement of acceptance under section 7 of this act, and persons making contributions to such a candidate, shall be subject to the following contribution limits in lieu of those established in section 3 (2) through (5) of this act:

(1) No person, other than a multicandidate political committee or a political party organization or a caucus of the state legislature, may make contributions to such a candidate that in the aggregate exceed two hundred fifty dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. Such a candidate shall not accept contributions from a person or committee that in the aggregate exceed the contribution limitations provided by this subsection for that person or committee.

(2) No multicandidate political committee may make contributions to such a candidate that in the aggregate exceed seven hundred fifty dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. Such a candidate shall not accept contributions from a multicandidate political committee that in aggregate exceed the contribution limitations provided by this subsection for that committee.

(3) During a campaign period, no candidate may accept contributions from political party organizations that in aggregate exceed twenty cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction.

(4) During a campaign period, no candidate may accept contributions from caucuses of the state legislature that in aggregate exceed twenty cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction.

(5) No candidate may accept contributions from political action committees that in aggregate exceed one‑half of the applicable campaign expenditure limit.

For the purposes of this section, "registered voter" means those persons registered in accordance with Title 29 RCW who are eligible to vote on the day filing opens for the applicable public office.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. USE OF LOGO. A candidate for state office who enters and abides by an agreement under section 7 of this act is entitled to display a good campaign practices seal, designed by the commission, in the political advertising and communications of the candidate during the applicable campaign period.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 29.80 RCW to read as follows:

VOTERS' PAMPHLET NOTICE. Based on the public disclosure commission's most current list of candidates who have signed and abided by an agreement with the commission under section 7 of this act, the secretary of state shall:

(1) Add a prominent notice in the candidates' pamphlet following the statement of each person on that list that says: "This candidate has agreed to the campaign spending limit"; and

(2) Add a prominent notice in the candidates' pamphlet following the statement of all other candidates that says: "This candidate has not agreed to the campaign spending limit of $[insert appropriate amount]."

PART III - AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE LAW

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES REPORTED. (1) Within two business days after the date of entering into a contract to make or otherwise making an independent expenditure, the person making the expenditure shall file a report with the commission and the election officer of the county in which the person resides. Within the same time limit, the person making the expenditure shall also mail, or transmit by facsimile, a copy of the report to each candidate for the office or offices for which the expenditure is made. The report shall be on a form prescribed by the commission, providing all relevant information, including the person's occupation and employer.

(2) A person making an independent expenditure by mailing one thousand or more identical or nearly identical cumulative pieces of political advertising in a single calendar year shall, within two business days after the time of the mailing, file an exact copy of the mailed political advertising with the commission and the election officer of the county in which the person resides. The person making the expenditure shall also mail within two business days an example to each candidate for the office or offices for which the expenditure is made.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. DISPLAY OF CONTRIBUTORS FOR POLITICAL ADVERTISING BY INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE. In addition to the requirements of RCW 42.17.510, if political advertising is undertaken as an independent expenditure by a person other than a political party organization, the political advertising shall also include the notation "Top Five Contributors:" followed by a listing of the names of the five persons making the largest contributions to the person during the twelve‑month period before the date of the advertisement. For the purpose of this listing, the use of the person's own funds for the independent expenditure shall be considered to be a contribution. If there are less than five contributors, the notation shall be revised to show the number of contributors and their names.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. ANNUAL REPORTS BY MULTICANDIDATE POLITICAL COMMITTEES. By the last day of February each year, a multicandidate political committee must file with the commission on a form prescribed by the commission a report summarizing its expenditures and contributions for the preceding calendar year and including a breakdown by candidate and ballot proposition. This report must also be mailed or otherwise personally delivered to each person contributing to the multicandidate political committee more than twenty‑five dollars during the preceding calendar year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. RULES FOR COUNTING CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES. (1) For the purposes of this chapter, payments made by a candidate to repay loans made to the candidate shall be reported but shall not be counted when determining the total expenditures made by the candidate with regard to any of the expenditure limitations of this chapter.

(2) The provisions of this chapter apply to a special election to fill a vacancy and to a recall election. Contributions and expenditures made in such elections shall not be counted toward any of the limitations which apply to the candidate under this chapter for the election cycle for any other election.

(3) For the purposes of this chapter, the expenditures made by and the contributions received by a candidate and the expenditures made by and the contributions received by the authorized committee of the candidate are considered to be expenditures made by and contributions received by the candidate.

(4) For purposes of calculating whether an expenditure limitation has been exceeded under this chapter, a candidate's contributions shall be counted only to the extent that the contributed funds have been accepted by the candidate and remain unexpended at the time the calculations are made. Once expended the contributions shall be counted as expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. VIOLATION OF EXPENDITURE LIMIT. It is a violation of this chapter for any candidate who has filed a statement of acceptance under section 7 of this act, or for any person acting as an agent for the candidate, to make expenditures which he or she knows exceed any expenditure limit applicable to the candidate under section 5 or 6 of this act.

Sec. 16. RCW 42.17.095 and 1982 c 147 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

SURPLUS FUNDS. ((~~The surplus funds of a candidate, or of a political committee supporting or opposing a candidate,~~)) (1) Within ninety days after an election cycle for an office, the surplus funds of a candidate for the office and of the authorized committee of the candidate shall be disposed of as specified under subsection (2) of this section, except as follows:

(a) If the office sought is a state office and the candidate has agreed under section 7 of this act to comply with the expenditure limit for the office and has complied with sections 5 and 6 of this act, then only the following amount must be disposed of under subsection (2) of this section: The amount of the surplus which is more than ten percent of the expenditure limit. The candidate may retain, and dispose of, the balance under subsection (3) of this section.

(b) If the office sought is a local government office, if the local government has adopted campaign spending limits for the office, if the candidate has officially agreed to abide by such limits and has complied with the local government's rules relating to the limits, then only the following amount must be disposed of under subsection (2) of this section: The amount of the surplus funds which is more than ten percent of the spending limit that would apply to the office if all candidates for the office had agreed to abide by the limits, and did abide by them, and if there were no independent expenditures. The candidate may retain, and dispose of, the balance under subsection (3) of this section.

(2) Surplus funds that must be disposed of under this subsection may only be disposed of in any one or more of the following ways:

((~~(1)~~)) (a) Return the surplus to a contributor in an amount not to exceed that contributor's original contribution;

((~~(2)~~)) (b) Transfer the surplus to the candidate's personal account as reimbursement for lost earnings incurred as a result of that candidate's election campaign. Such lost earnings shall be verifiable as unpaid salary or, when the candidate is not salaried, as an amount not to exceed income received by the candidate for services rendered during an appropriate, corresponding time period. All lost earnings incurred shall be documented and a record thereof shall be maintained by the candidate or the candidate's political committee. The committee shall include a copy of such record when its expenditure for such reimbursement is reported pursuant to RCW 42.17.090;

((~~(3)~~)) (c) Transfer the surplus to ((~~one or more candidates or to)) a political ((committee or~~)) party organization or to a caucus of the state legislature;

((~~(4)~~)) (d) Donate the surplus to a charitable organization registered in accordance with chapter 19.09 RCW;

((~~(5)~~)) (e) Transmit the surplus to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund((~~; or~~)).

((~~(6) Hold the surplus~~)) (3) Surplus funds that may be retained and disposed of under this subsection may be held in the campaign depository or depositories designated in accordance with RCW 42.17.050 for possible use in a future election campaign, for political activity, for community activity, or for nonreimbursed public office related expenses ((~~and report~~)). Any such disposition shall be reported in accordance with RCW 42.17.090((~~: PROVIDED, That~~)). If the candidate subsequently announces or publicly files for office, information as appropriate ((is)) shall be reported to the commission in accordance with RCW 42.17.040 through 42.17.090. If a subsequent office is not sought, the surplus held shall be disposed of ((~~in accordance with the requirements of~~)) as authorized by this subsection or by any way specified under subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Subsection (1) of this section applies to a candidate for state office beginning with the conclusion of the first election cycle during which section 3 or 8 of this act applies to the office and applies thereafter. Subsection (1) of this section applies to a candidate for the office of a unit of local government beginning with the conclusion of the election cycle which includes within it the date, July 1, 1995, and applies thereafter.

Sec. 17. RCW 42.17.390 and 1973 c 1 s 39 are each amended to read as follows:

PENALTIES. (1) One or more of the following civil remedies and sanctions may be imposed by court order in addition to any other remedies provided by law:

(a) If the court finds that the violation of any provision of this chapter by any candidate or political committee probably affected the outcome of any election, the result of said election may be held void and a special election held within sixty days of such finding. Any action to void an election shall be commenced within one year of the date of the election in question. It is intended that this remedy be imposed freely in all appropriate cases to protect the right of the electorate to an informed and knowledgeable vote.

(b) If any lobbyist or sponsor of any grass roots lobbying campaign violates any of the provisions of this chapter, his or her registration may be revoked or suspended and he or she may be enjoined from receiving compensation or making expenditures for lobbying: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That imposition of such sanction shall not excuse said lobbyist from filing statements and reports required by this chapter.

(c) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each such violation. However: For a violation of section 3 or 8 of this act, the penalty shall be up to the greater of ten thousand dollars or three times the amount of the contribution illegally made or accepted; and for a violation of section 15 of this act, the penalty shall be up to the greater of ten thousand dollars or three times the amount of the expenditures in excess of the applicable expenditure limitation.

(d) Any person who fails to file a properly completed statement or report within the time required by this chapter may be subject to a civil penalty of ten dollars per day for each day each such delinquency continues.

(e) Any person who fails to report a contribution or expenditure may be subject to a civil penalty equivalent to the amount he or she failed to report.

(f) The court may enjoin any person to prevent the doing of any act herein prohibited, or to compel the performance of any act required herein.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION‑-ADJUSTMENT OF DOLLAR AMOUNTS‑-AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS‑-RULES ORDERED. In addition to the powers of the commission in RCW 42.17.370, the commission shall:

(1) Adjust all dollar amounts in sections 3, 5, 6, and 8 of this act based on changes in economic conditions as reflected in the inflationary index used by the commission under RCW 42.17.370. The first adjustment shall be made one year after the effective date of this act to reflect changes since January 1, 1992. Thereafter, adjustments shall be made every two years. The new dollar amounts established by the commission under this section shall be rounded off within ten percent of the target amount;

(2) Conduct a sufficient number of audits and field investigations so as to determine the degree of compliance with the provisions of this chapter by all required filers; and

(3) Make such rules as are necessary to carry out the intent of this act including rules that:

(a) Treat a contribution by a child under eighteen as the contribution of both parents unless the contribution is made voluntarily by the child from his or her own separate assets;

(b) Define situations in which a contribution is controlled for the purposes of section 3(8) of this act; and

(c) Specify accounting and financial practices for persons subject to this chapter necessary to allow for commission audits.

Sec. 19. RCW 42.17.243 and 1991 sp.s. c 18 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

OFFICE FUNDS. (1) Elected and appointed officials required to report under RCW 42.17.240, shall report for themselves and for members of their immediate family to the commission any contributions received during the preceding calendar ((~~year~~)) quarter for the officials' use in defraying nonreimbursed public office related expenses. Contributions reported under this section shall be referred to as a "public office fund" and shall not be transferred to a political committee nor used to promote or oppose a candidate or ballot proposition, other than as provided by subsection (3)(a) of this section. Reimbursements or payments for travel do not constitute contributions for the purposes of this section.

A report shall be filed during the month ((~~of January of any year~~)) following a ((~~year~~)) calendar quarter in which such contributions were received for or expenditures made from a public office fund. The day of the month by which such reports must be filed may be set by the commission by rule. The report shall include:

(a) The name and address of each contributor;

(b) A description of each contribution, including the date on which it was received and its amount or, if its dollar value is unascertainable, an estimate of its fair market value; and

(c) A description of each expenditure made from a public office fund, including the name and address of the recipient, the amount, and the date of each such expenditure.

(2) No report under subsection (1) of this section shall be required if:

(a) The receipt of the contribution has been reported pursuant to RCW 42.17.065 (continuing political committee reports) or RCW 42.17.090 (political committee reports); or

(b) The contribution is in the form of meals, refreshments, or entertainment given in connection with official appearances or occasions where public business was discussed.

(3) Any funds which remain in a public office fund after all permissible public office related expenses have been paid may only be disposed of in one or more of the following ways:

(a) Returned to a contributor in an amount not to exceed that contributor's original contribution; or

(b) Donated to a charitable organization registered in accordance with chapter 19.09 RCW; or

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. CODIFICATION DIRECTION. (1) Sections 5 through 9 and 15 of this act are each added to chapter 42.17 RCW as a subchapter and codified with the subchapter heading of "campaign expenditure limitations."

(2) Sections 3, 4, 11 through 14, and 18 of this act are each added to chapter 42.17 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. SPECIAL REPORTS AND LATE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 42.17.100 and 1989 c 280 s 10, 1985 c 367 s 6, 1982 c 147 s 9, 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 112 s 4, & 1973 c 1 s 10;

(2) RCW 42.17.105 and 1991 c 157 s 1, 1989 c 280 s 11, 1986 c 228 s 2, 1985 c 359 s 1, & 1983 c 176 s 1; and

(3) RCW 42.17.175 and 1991 c 157 s 2 & 1985 c 359 s 2.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. HEADINGS. Part and section headings as used in this act do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. PREVIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS. Contributions made and received and expenditures made before the effective date of this act are not considered to be contributions or expenditures under the provisions of section 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. GIFTS TO BE DISCLOSED. The provisions of chapter 42.17 RCW requiring elected officials to disclose gifts shall continue in full force and effect.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 26. A new section is added to chapter 44.60 RCW to read as follows:

HONORARIA PROHIBITED. It is unethical conduct under this chapter for any legislator to accept an honorarium if it can be reasonably concluded that the honorarium would not have been made but for the legislator's status as a legislator.

PART IV - DEFINITIONS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 27. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply to this act. The definitions under RCW 42.17.020 apply to this act except as modified by this section.

(1) "Authorized committee" means the one political committee described in RCW 42.17.050 and authorized by a candidate, or by the elected official against whom recall charges have been filed, to accept contributions or make expenditures on behalf of the candidate or elected official.

(2) "Bona fide political party" means an organization that has filed a valid certificate of nomination with the secretary of state under chapter 29.24 RCW or the governing body of the state organization of a major political party, as defined in RCW 29.01.090, authorized by the party's charter or bylaws to exercise its authority.

(3) "Campaign period" means the time beginning on Labor Day in the year previous to the year in which the general election for the office is conducted and ending when the polls close for the general election for the office, or ending when that candidate ceases to be a candidate for any reason. In the case of a special election to fill a vacancy, "campaign period" begins on the day the vacancy occurs and ends when the polls close for the special election. If a candidate has debt remaining after the election, then the campaign period ends ninety days after the election or when the candidate has retired that percentage of debt that he or she is allowed to retire under RCW 42.17.095, whichever occurs first.

(4) "Caucus of the state legislature" means the caucus of the members of a major political party in the state house of representatives or in the state senate.

(5)(a) "Contribution" includes a loan, gift, deposit, subscription, forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, pledge, payment, transfer of funds between political committees, or transfer of anything of value, including personal and professional services for less than full consideration.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, "contribution" does not include the following, all of which may be further defined by the commission:

(i) Interest on moneys deposited in a political committee's account;

(ii) Ordinary home hospitality;

(iii) A contribution received by a candidate or political committee that is returned to the contributor within five business days of the date on which it is received by the candidate or committee, except that a contribution that would result in notice having to be made under section 5(2) of this act will be counted as a contribution under section 5(2) of this act unless it is returned within twenty-four hours of receipt;

(iv) The rendering of personal services of the sort commonly performed by volunteer campaign workers, or incidental expenses personally incurred by volunteer campaign workers not in excess of fifty dollars personally paid for by the worker. Volunteer services, for the purposes of this chapter, means services or labor for which the individual is not compensated by any person.

(c) The following expenditures, which may be further defined by the commission, by any entity do not constitute contributions to any candidate:

(i) Any expenditure for voter registration, for absentee ballot information, for precinct caucuses, for get‑out‑the‑vote campaigns, for precinct judges or inspectors, or for ballot counting, all without promotion of or political advertising for individual candidates;

(ii) Any expenditure for sample ballots, listing all or substantially all candidates and ballot issues that will appear on a coming election ballot, listing all candidates and their political party affiliations for each office mentioned, and perhaps also denoting political committee endorsements, but with no other descriptive information about the candidates;

(iii) Any news, feature, commentary or editorial in a regularly scheduled news medium which is of primary interest to the general public, which is controlled by a person whose primary business is the news medium, and which is not controlled by any candidate or political committee;

(iv) Any expenditure by a political committee for its own internal organization or fund-raising without direct association with individual candidates; or

(v) Any internal political communication primarily limited to the contributors to a political party organization or political action committee; primarily limited to the officers, management staff, and stockholders of a corporation or similar enterprise; or primarily limited to the members of a labor organization or other membership organization.

(d) Contributions other than money or its equivalents shall be deemed to have a money value equivalent to the fair market value of the contribution.

(e) An expenditure made by a person in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a political committee, or their agents, is considered to be a contribution to such candidate or political committee.

(f) The financing by a person of the dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or in part, of broadcast, written, graphic, or other form of political advertising prepared by a candidate, a political committee, or their authorized agents, is considered to be a contribution to the candidate or political committee.

(g) Sums paid for tickets to fund-raising events such as dinners and parties are contributions; however, the amount of any such contribution may be reduced for the purpose of complying with the reporting requirements of this chapter, by the actual cost of consumables furnished in connection with the purchase of the tickets, and only the excess over the actual cost of the consumables shall be deemed a contribution.

(6) "Corporation" includes any private or public corporation, whether for profit or not-for-profit.

(7) "Election" means a primary or a general or special election in which a candidate is on the ballot.

(8) "Election cycle" means the period beginning on the first day of December following the date of the last previous general election for the office which the candidate seeks and ending on November thirtieth following the next election for the office. In the case of a special election to fill a vacancy, "election cycle" begins on the day the vacancy occurs.

(9) "General election" means the election which directly results in the election of a person to a public office. It does not include a primary.

(10) "Independent expenditure" means an "expenditure" as defined in RCW 42.17.020 which has each of the following elements:

(a) It is made in support of or in opposition to a candidate for office by a person who is not (i) a candidate for that office, (ii) an authorized committee of a candidate for that office, (iii) a person who has received the candidate's encouragement or approval to make the expenditure, if the expenditure pays in whole or in part for any political advertising supporting that candidate or promoting the defeat of any other candidate or candidates for that office, or (iv) a person with whom the candidate has collaborated for the purpose of making the expenditure, if the expenditure pays in whole or in part for any political advertising supporting that candidate or promoting the defeat of any other candidate or candidates for that office;

(b) The expenditure pays in whole or in part for any political advertising which either specifically names the candidate supported or opposed, or clearly and beyond any doubt identifies such candidate without using the candidate's name; and

(c) The expenditure, alone or in conjunction with another expenditure or other expenditures of the same person in support of or opposition to that candidate, has a value of five hundred dollars or more. A sequence of expenditures each of which is under five hundred dollars shall constitute one independent expenditure as of the time that the last expenditure brings the total value of the sequence to five hundred dollars or more, and no expenditure in the sequence which has been reported to the board under section 11 of this act shall be considered as part of any future independent expenditure.

(11) "Labor organization" means a trade association or an organization, agency, association, union, or employee committee that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of representing employees in dealings with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work.

(12) "Multicandidate political committee" means a political action committee that receives contributions of ten dollars or more from each of one hundred or more persons; and makes contributions of at least one hundred dollars to each of ten or more candidates.

(13) "Political action committee" means a political committee that is not an authorized committee, political party organization, caucus of the state legislature, or ballot proposition committee.

(14) "Political party organization" means:

(a) A bona fide political party;

(b) A county central committee of a party as provided in RCW 29.42.030; or

(15) "Primary" means the procedure for nominating a candidate to public office under chapter 29.18 or 29.21 RCW or any other primary for an election that uses, in large measure, the procedures established in chapter 29.18 or 29.21 RCW.

(16) "Public official" means any person who is elected or appointed to a public office.

(17) "Recall committee" means a political committee acting in support of the qualification or passage of the recall petition.

(18) "State office" means an elective office of the executive or legislative branch of state government and the office of judge of the state supreme court, court of appeals, or superior court.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 28. This act constitutes an alternative to Initiative 134, which has been proposed to the legislature. The secretary of state is directed to place this act on the ballot in conjunction with Initiative 134, pursuant to Article II, section 1(a) of the state Constitution.