AN ACT Relating to
contributions made to a candidate who loses a primary; and amending RCW
42.17.640.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 42.17.640 and 1995 c
397 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No person, other
than a bona fide political party or a caucus political committee, may make
contributions to a candidate for a state legislative office that in the
aggregate exceed five hundred dollars or to a candidate for a state office
other than a state legislative office that in the aggregate exceed one thousand
dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as
a write-in candidate. Contributions made with respect to a primary may not be
made after the date of the primary. However, contributions to a candidate
or a candidate's authorized committee may be made with respect to a primary
until thirty days after the primary, subject to the following limitations: (a)
The candidate lost the primary; (b) the candidate's authorized committee has
insufficient funds to pay debts outstanding as of the date of the primary; and
(c) the contributions may only be raised and spent to satisfy the outstanding debt.
Contributions made with respect to a general election may not be made after the
final day of the applicable election cycle.
(2) No person, other
than a bona fide political party or a caucus political committee, may make
contributions to a state official against whom recall charges have been filed,
or to a political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in
support of the recall of the state official, during a recall campaign that in
the aggregate exceed five hundred dollars if for a state legislative office or
one thousand dollars if for a state office other than a state legislative
office.
(3)(a) Notwithstanding
subsection (1) of this section, no bona fide political party or caucus
political committee may make contributions to a candidate during an election
cycle that in the aggregate exceed (i) fifty cents multiplied by the number of
eligible registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is
elected if the contributor is a caucus political committee or the governing body
of a state organization, or (ii) twenty-five cents multiplied by the number of
registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected if
the contributor is a county central committee or a legislative district
committee.
(b) No candidate may
accept contributions from a county central committee or a legislative district
committee during an election cycle that when combined with contributions from
other county central committees or legislative district committees would in the
aggregate exceed twenty-five cents times the number of registered voters in the
jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected.
(4)(a) Notwithstanding
subsection (2) of this section, no bona fide political party or caucus
political committee may make contributions to a state official against whom
recall charges have been filed, or to a political committee having the
expectation of making expenditures in support of the state official, during a
recall campaign that in the aggregate exceed (i) fifty cents multiplied by the
number of eligible registered voters in the jurisdiction entitled to recall the
state official if the contributor is a caucus political committee or the
governing body of a state organization, or (ii) twenty-five cents multiplied by
the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is
elected if the contributor is a county central committee or a legislative
district committee.
(b) No state official
against whom recall charges have been filed, no authorized committee of the official,
and no political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in
support of the recall of a state official may accept contributions from a
county central committee or a legislative district committee during an election
cycle that when combined with contributions from other county central
committees or legislative district committees would in the aggregate exceed
twenty-five cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the
jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected.
(5) For purposes of
determining contribution limits under subsections (3) and (4) of this section,
the number of eligible registered voters in a jurisdiction is the number at the
time of the most recent general election in the jurisdiction.
(6) Notwithstanding
subsections (1) through (4) of this section, no person other than an
individual, bona fide political party, or caucus political committee may make
contributions reportable under this chapter to a caucus political committee
that in the aggregate exceed five hundred dollars in a calendar year or to a
bona fide political party that in the aggregate exceed two thousand five
hundred dollars in a calendar year. This subsection does not apply to loans
made in the ordinary course of business.
(7) For the purposes of
RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790, a contribution to the authorized political
committee of a candidate, or of a state official against whom recall charges
have been filed, is considered to be a contribution to the candidate or state
official.
(8) A contribution
received within the twelve-month period after a recall election concerning a
state office is considered to be a contribution during that recall campaign if
the contribution is used to pay a debt or obligation incurred to influence the
outcome of that recall campaign.
(9) The contributions
allowed by subsection (2) of this section are in addition to those allowed by
subsection (1) of this section, and the contributions allowed by subsection (4)
of this section are in addition to those allowed by subsection (3) of this
section.
(10) RCW 42.17.640
through 42.17.790 apply to a special election conducted to fill a vacancy in a
state office. However, the contributions made to a candidate or received by a
candidate for a primary or special election conducted to fill such a vacancy
shall not be counted toward any of the limitations that apply to the candidate
or to contributions made to the candidate for any other primary or election.
(11) Notwithstanding
the other subsections of this section, no corporation or business entity not
doing business in Washington state, no labor union with fewer than ten members
who reside in Washington state, and no political committee that has not
received contributions of ten dollars or more from at least ten persons registered
to vote in Washington state during the preceding one hundred eighty days may
make contributions reportable under this chapter to a candidate, to a state
official against whom recall charges have been filed, or to a political
committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the
recall of the official. This subsection does not apply to loans made in the
ordinary course of business.
(12) Notwithstanding
the other subsections of this section, no county central committee or legislative
district committee may make contributions reportable under this chapter to a
candidate, state official against whom recall charges have been filed, or
political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of
the recall of a state official if the county central committee or legislative
district committee is outside of the jurisdiction entitled to elect the
candidate or recall the state official.
(13) No person may
accept contributions that exceed the contribution limitations provided in this
section.
(14) The following
contributions are exempt from the contribution limits of this section:
(a) An expenditure or
contribution earmarked for voter registration, for absentee ballot information,
for precinct caucuses, for get-out-the-vote campaigns, for precinct judges or
inspectors, for sample ballots, or for ballot counting, all without promotion
of or political advertising for individual candidates; or
(b) An
expenditure by a political committee for its own internal organization or fund
raising without direct association with individual candidates.
