CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

 

                   SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1673

 

 

                   Chapter 304, Laws of 1999

 

 

                        56th Legislature

                      1999 Regular Session

 

 

POLITICAL ADVERTISING--FALSE STATEMENTS

 

 

 

                    EFFECTIVE DATE:  7/25/99

Passed by the House April 23, 1999

  Yeas 96   Nays 0

 

 

             CLYDE BALLARD

Speaker of the House of Representatives

     

 

 

              FRANK CHOPP

Speaker of the House of Representatives

 

 

 

Passed by the Senate April 21, 1999

  Yeas 41   Nays 3

             CERTIFICATE

 

We, Dean R. Foster and Timothy A. Martin, Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1673  as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

 

 

 

           DEAN R. FOSTER

                          Chief Clerk

 

 

          TIMOTHY A. MARTIN

                          Chief Clerk

               BRAD OWEN

President of the Senate

 

 

 

Approved May 13, 1999 Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.          

                                FILED                

 

             May 13, 1999 - 3:54 p.m.

 

              GARY LOCKE

Governor of the State of Washington

                 Secretary of State

                 State of Washington


          _______________________________________________

 

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1673

          _______________________________________________

 

                     AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

 

             Passed Legislature - 1999 Regular Session

 

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Lambert, O'Brien, Thomas and Sullivan)

 

Read first time 03/02/1999.

  Penalizing false political advertising.   


    AN ACT Relating to false political advertising; amending RCW 42.17.530; and creating a new section.

 

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

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  (1) The Washington supreme court in a case involving a ballot measure, State v. 119 Vote No! Committee, 135 Wn.2d 618 (1998), found the statute that prohibits persons from sponsoring, with actual malice, political advertising containing false statements of material fact to be invalid under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

    (2) The legislature finds that a review of the opinions indicates that a majority of the supreme court may find valid a statute that limited such a prohibition on sponsoring with actual malice false statements of material fact in a political campaign to statements about a candidate in an election for public office.

    (3) It is the intent of the legislature to amend the current law to provide protection for candidates for public office against false statements of material fact sponsored with actual malice.

 

    Sec. 2.  RCW 42.17.530 and 1988 c 199 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) It is a violation of this chapter for a person to sponsor with actual malice:

    (a) Political advertising that contains a false statement of material fact about a candidate for public office.  However, this subsection (1)(a) does not apply to statements made by a candidate or the candidate's agent about the candidate himself or herself;"

    (b) Political advertising that falsely represents that a candidate is the incumbent for the office sought when in fact the candidate is not the incumbent;

    (c) Political advertising that makes either directly or indirectly, a false claim stating or implying the support or endorsement of any person or organization when in fact the candidate does not have such support or endorsement.

    (2) Any violation of this section shall be proven by clear and convincing evidence.


    Passed the House April 23, 1999.

    Passed the Senate April 21, 1999.

Approved by the Governor May 13, 1999.

    Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 13, 1999.