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AN ACT Relating to voter petition fraud; amending RCW 29.79.440, 29.79.490, and 29.82.220; reenacting and amending RCW 9A.82.010; adding a new section to chapter 29.85 RCW; recodifying RCW 29.79.440; repealing RCW 9.44.080 and 29.82.170; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 29.79.440 and 1993 c 256 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

((Every person who signs an initiative or referendum petition with any other than his or her true name shall be guilty of a class C felony punishable under RCW 9A.20.021. Every person who knowingly signs more than one petition for the same initiative or referendum measure or who signs an initiative or referendum petition knowing that he or she is not a legal voter or who makes a false statement as to his or her residence on any initiative or referendum petition, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable to the same extent as a gross misdemeanor that is punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.)) (1) A person is guilty of voter petition fraud in the first degree if he or she:

(a) Signs a voters' petition with any other than his or her true name or with knowledge that he or she is not eligible to sign the voters' petition;

(b) Knowingly signs a voters' petition or petitions for the same measure more than once;

(c) Solicits signatures, or aids in the solicitation of signatures, on voters' petitions that are filed, with knowledge that the petitions contain one or more false or wrongful signatures; or

(d) Files voters' petitions with knowledge that the petitions contain one or more false or wrongful signatures.

Voter petition fraud in the first degree is a class C felony punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.

(2) A person is guilty of voter petition fraud in the second degree if he or she:

(a) Signs or refuses to sign his or her own name or withdraws his or her own name for any consideration, gratuity, or reward; or

(b) Makes a false statement as to his or her residence, age, citizenship, or other qualifications on any voters' petition.

Voters' signature fraud in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.

(3) As used in this section, "voters' petition" means:

(a) A state initiative or referendum petition under chapter 29.79 RCW;

(b) A city or county initiative petition under chapter 35.17, 35.22, or 35A.11 RCW, a city or county charter, or other provision of law;

(d) Any other petition circulated for voter signature in pursuance of any constitutional provision, statute, charter, or ordinance.

Sec. 2. RCW 29.79.490 and 1993 c 256 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

Every person shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor who:

(1) ((~~For any consideration or gratuity or promise thereof, signs or declines to sign any initiative or referendum petition; or~~

~~(2)~~)) Provides or receives consideration for soliciting or procuring signatures on an initiative or referendum petition if any part of the consideration is based upon the number of signatures solicited or procured, or offers to provide or agrees to receive such consideration any of which is based on the number of signatures solicited or procured; or

((~~(3)~~)) (2) Gives or offers any consideration or gratuity to any person to induce him or her to sign or not to sign or to vote for or against any initiative or referendum measure; or

((~~(4)~~)) (3) Interferes with or attempts to interfere with the right of any voter to sign or not to sign an initiative or referendum petition or with the right to vote for or against an initiative or referendum measure by threats, intimidation, or any other corrupt means or practice; or

((~~(5)~~)) (4) Receives, handles, distributes, pays out, or gives away, directly or indirectly, money or any other thing of value contributed by or received from any person, firm, association, or corporation whose residence or principal office is, or the majority of whose members or stockholders have their residence outside, the state of Washington, for any service rendered for the purpose of aiding in procuring signatures upon any initiative or referendum petition or for the purpose of aiding in the adoption or rejection of any initiative or referendum measure: PROVIDED, That this subsection shall not apply to or prohibit any activity which is properly reported in accordance with the applicable provisions of chapter 42.17 RCW.

A gross misdemeanor under this section is punishable to the same extent as a gross misdemeanor that is punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.

Sec. 3. RCW 29.82.220 and 1984 c 170 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

Every person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor, who:

(1) ((~~For any consideration, compensation, gratuity, reward, or thing of value or promise thereof, signs or declines to sign any recall petition; or~~

~~(2)~~)) Advertises in any newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication, or in any book, pamphlet, circular, or letter, or by means of any sign, signboard, bill, poster, handbill, or card, or in any manner whatsoever, that he will either for or without compensation or consideration circulate, solicit, procure, or obtain signatures upon, or influence or induce or attempt to influence or induce persons to sign or not to sign any recall petition or vote for or against any recall; or

((~~(3)~~)) (2) For pay or any consideration, compensation, gratuity, reward, or thing of value or promise thereof, circulates, or solicits, procures, or obtains or attempts to procure or obtain signatures upon any recall petition; or

((~~(4)~~)) (3) Pays or offers or promises to pay, or gives or offers or promises to give any consideration, compensation, gratuity, reward, or thing of value to any person to induce him to sign or not to sign, or to circulate or solicit, procure, or attempt to procure or obtain signatures upon any recall petition, or to vote for or against any recall; or

((~~(5)~~)) (4) By any other corrupt means or practice or by threats or intimidation interferes with or attempts to interfere with the right of any legal voter to sign or not to sign any recall petition or to vote for or against any recall; or

((~~(6)~~)) (5) Receives, accepts, handles, distributes, pays out, or gives away, directly or indirectly, any money, consideration, compensation, gratuity, reward, or thing of value contributed by or received from any person, firm, association, or corporation whose residence or principal office is, or the majority of whose stockholders are nonresidents of the state of Washington, for any service, work, or assistance of any kind done or rendered for the purpose of aiding in procuring signatures upon any recall petition or the adoption or rejection of any recall.

Sec. 4. RCW 9A.82.010 and 1995 c 285 s 34 and 1995 c 92 s 5 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

Unless the context requires the contrary, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Creditor" means a person making an extension of credit or a person claiming by, under, or through a person making an extension of credit.

(2) "Debtor" means a person to whom an extension of credit is made or a person who guarantees the repayment of an extension of credit or in any manner undertakes to indemnify the creditor against loss resulting from the failure of a person to whom an extension is made to repay the same.

(3) "Extortionate extension of credit" means an extension of credit with respect to which it is the understanding of the creditor and the debtor at the time the extension is made that delay in making repayment or failure to make repayment could result in the use of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to the person, reputation, or property of any person.

(4) "Extortionate means" means the use, or an express or implicit threat of use, of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to the person, reputation, or property of any person.

(5) "To collect an extension of credit" means to induce in any way a person to make repayment thereof.

(6) "To extend credit" means to make or renew a loan or to enter into an agreement, tacit or express, whereby the repayment or satisfaction of a debt or claim, whether acknowledged or disputed, valid or invalid, and however arising, may or shall be deferred.

(7) "Repayment of an extension of credit" means the repayment, satisfaction, or discharge in whole or in part of a debt or claim, acknowledged or disputed, valid or invalid, resulting from or in connection with that extension of credit.

(8) "Dealer in property" means a person who buys and sells property as a business.

(9) "Stolen property" means property that has been obtained by theft, robbery, or extortion.

(10) "Traffic" means to sell, transfer, distribute, dispense, or otherwise dispose of stolen property to another person, or to buy, receive, possess, or obtain control of stolen property, with intent to sell, transfer, distribute, dispense, or otherwise dispose of the property to another person.

(11) "Control" means the possession of a sufficient interest to permit substantial direction over the affairs of an enterprise.

(12) "Enterprise" includes any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, business trust, or other profit or nonprofit legal entity, and includes any union, association, or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity, and both illicit and licit enterprises and governmental and nongovernmental entities.

(13) "Financial institution" means any bank, trust company, savings and loan association, savings bank, mutual savings bank, credit union, or loan company under the jurisdiction of the state or an agency of the United States.

(14) "Criminal profiteering" means any act, including any anticipatory or completed offense, committed for financial gain, that is chargeable or indictable under the laws of the state in which the act occurred and, if the act occurred in a state other than this state, would be chargeable or indictable under the laws of this state had the act occurred in this state and punishable as a felony and by imprisonment for more than one year, regardless of whether the act is charged or indicted, as any of the following:

(a) Murder, as defined in RCW 9A.32.030 and 9A.32.050;

(b) Robbery, as defined in RCW 9A.56.200 and 9A.56.210;

(d) Forgery, as defined in RCW 9A.60.020 and 9A.60.030;

(e) Theft, as defined in RCW 9A.56.030, 9A.56.040, 9A.56.060, and 9A.56.080;

(f) Unlawful sale of subscription television services, as defined in RCW 9A.56.230;

(g) Theft of telecommunication services or unlawful manufacture of a telecommunication device, as defined in RCW 9A.56.262 and 9A.56.264;

(h) Child selling or child buying, as defined in RCW 9A.64.030;

(i) Bribery, as defined in RCW 9A.68.010, 9A.68.020, 9A.68.040, and 9A.68.050;

(j) Gambling, as defined in RCW 9.46.220 and 9.46.215 and 9.46.217;

(k) Extortion, as defined in RCW 9A.56.120 and 9A.56.130;

(l) Extortionate extension of credit, as defined in RCW 9A.82.020;

(m) Advancing money for use in an extortionate extension of credit, as defined in RCW 9A.82.030;

(n) Collection of an extortionate extension of credit, as defined in RCW 9A.82.040;

(o) Collection of an unlawful debt, as defined in RCW 9A.82.045;

(p) Delivery or manufacture of controlled substances or possession with intent to deliver or manufacture controlled substances under chapter 69.50 RCW;

(q) Trafficking in stolen property, as defined in RCW 9A.82.050;

(r) Leading organized crime, as defined in RCW 9A.82.060;

(s) Money laundering, as defined in RCW 9A.83.020;

(t) Obstructing criminal investigations or prosecutions in violation of RCW 9A.72.090, 9A.72.100, 9A.72.110, 9A.72.120, 9A.72.130, 9A.76.070, or 9A.76.180;

(u) Fraud in the purchase or sale of securities, as defined in RCW 21.20.010;

(v) Promoting pornography, as defined in RCW 9.68.140;

(w) Sexual exploitation of children, as defined in RCW 9.68A.040, 9.68A.050, and 9.68A.060;

(x) Promoting prostitution, as defined in RCW 9A.88.070 and 9A.88.080;

(y) Arson, as defined in RCW 9A.48.020 and 9A.48.030;

(z) Assault, as defined in RCW 9A.36.011 and 9A.36.021;

(aa) Assault of a child, as defined in RCW 9A.36.120 and 9A.36.130;

(bb) A pattern of equity skimming, as defined in RCW 61.34.020;

(cc) Commercial telephone solicitation in violation of RCW 19.158.040(1);

(dd) Trafficking in insurance claims, as defined in RCW 48.30A.015;

(ee) Unlawful practice of law, as defined in RCW 2.48.180;

(ff) Commercial bribery, as defined in RCW 9A.68.060;

(gg) Health care false claims, as defined in RCW 48.80.030; ((or))

(hh) Unlicensed practice of a profession or business, as defined in RCW 18.130.190(7); or

(ii) Voter petition fraud in the first degree, as defined in RCW 29.79.440.

(15) "Pattern of criminal profiteering activity" means engaging in at least three acts of criminal profiteering, one of which occurred after July 1, 1985, and the last of which occurred within five years, excluding any period of imprisonment, after the commission of the earliest act of criminal profiteering. In order to constitute a pattern, the three acts must have the same or similar intent, results, accomplices, principals, victims, or methods of commission, or be otherwise interrelated by distinguishing characteristics including a nexus to the same enterprise, and must not be isolated events. However, in any civil proceedings brought pursuant to RCW 9A.82.100 by any person other than the attorney general or county prosecuting attorney in which one or more acts of fraud in the purchase or sale of securities are asserted as acts of criminal profiteering activity, it is a condition to civil liability under RCW 9A.82.100 that the defendant has been convicted in a criminal proceeding of fraud in the purchase or sale of securities under RCW 21.20.400 or under the laws of another state or of the United States requiring the same elements of proof, but such conviction need not relate to any act or acts asserted as acts of criminal profiteering activity in such civil action under RCW 9A.82.100.

(16) "Records" means any book, paper, writing, record, computer program, or other material.

(17) "Documentary material" means any book, paper, document, writing, drawing, graph, chart, photograph, phonograph record, magnetic tape, computer printout, other data compilation from which information can be obtained or from which information can be translated into usable form, or other tangible item.

(18) "Unlawful debt" means any money or other thing of value constituting principal or interest of a debt that is legally unenforceable in the state in full or in part because the debt was incurred or contracted:

(a) In violation of any one of the following:

(i) Chapter 67.16 RCW relating to horse racing;

(ii) Chapter 9.46 RCW relating to gambling;

(b) In a gambling activity in violation of federal law; or

(c) In connection with the business of lending money or a thing of value at a rate that is at least twice the permitted rate under the applicable state or federal law relating to usury.

(19)(a) "Beneficial interest" means:

(i) The interest of a person as a beneficiary under a trust established under Title 11 RCW in which the trustee for the trust holds legal or record title to real property;

(ii) The interest of a person as a beneficiary under any other trust arrangement under which a trustee holds legal or record title to real property for the benefit of the beneficiary; or

(iii) The interest of a person under any other form of express fiduciary arrangement under which one person holds legal or record title to real property for the benefit of the other person.

(b) "Beneficial interest" does not include the interest of a stockholder in a corporation or the interest of a partner in a general partnership or limited partnership.

(20) "Real property" means any real property or interest in real property, including but not limited to a land sale contract, lease, or mortgage of real property.

(21)(a) "Trustee" means:

(i) A person acting as a trustee under a trust established under Title 11 RCW in which the trustee holds legal or record title to real property;

(ii) A person who holds legal or record title to real property in which another person has a beneficial interest; or

(iii) A successor trustee to a person who is a trustee under subsection (21)(a) (i) or (ii) of this section.

(b) "Trustee" does not mean a person appointed or acting as:

(i) A personal representative under Title 11 RCW;

(ii) A trustee of any testamentary trust;

(iii) A trustee of any indenture of trust under which a bond is issued; or

(iv) A trustee under a deed of trust.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. RCW 29.79.440 is recodified as a section in chapter 29.85 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 9.44.080 and 1909 c 249 s 337; and

(2) RCW 29.82.170 and 1984 c 170 s 11 & 1965 c 9 s 29.82.170.