BILL REQ. #: H-1003.1
State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/26/2005. Referred to Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability.
AN ACT Relating to campaign finance reform; amending RCW 42.17.020, 42.17.103, and 42.17.640; and adding new sections to chapter 42.17 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 42.17.020 and 2002 c 75 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) "Agency" includes all state agencies and all local agencies.
"State agency" includes every state office, department, division,
bureau, board, commission, or other state agency. "Local agency"
includes every county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special purpose district, or any office,
department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency thereof, or
other local public agency.
(2) "Authorized committee" means the political committee authorized
by a candidate, or by the public official against whom recall charges
have been filed, to accept contributions or make expenditures on behalf
of the candidate or public official.
(3) "Ballot proposition" means any "measure" as defined by RCW
((29.01.110)) 29A.04.091, or any initiative, recall, or referendum
proposition proposed to be submitted to the voters of the state or any
municipal corporation, political subdivision, or other voting
constituency from and after the time when the proposition has been
initially filed with the appropriate election officer of that
constituency prior to its circulation for signatures.
(4) "Benefit" means a commercial, proprietary, financial, economic,
or monetary advantage, or the avoidance of a commercial, proprietary,
financial, economic, or monetary disadvantage.
(5) "Bona fide political party" means:
(a) An organization that has filed a valid certificate of
nomination with the secretary of state under chapter ((29.24)) 29A.20
RCW;
(b) The governing body of the state organization of a major
political party, as defined in RCW ((29.01.090)) 29A.04.086, that is
the body authorized by the charter or bylaws of the party to exercise
authority on behalf of the state party; or
(c) The county central committee or legislative district committee
of a major political party. There may be only one legislative district
committee for each party in each legislative district.
(6) (("Depository" means a bank designated by a candidate or
political committee pursuant to RCW 42.17.050.)) "Candidate" means any individual who seeks nomination for
election or election to public office. An individual seeks nomination
or election when he or she first:
(7) "Treasurer" and "deputy treasurer" mean the individuals
appointed by a candidate or political committee, pursuant to RCW
42.17.050, to perform the duties specified in that section.
(8)
(a) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or reserves space
or facilities with intent to promote his or her candidacy for office;
(b) Announces publicly or files for office;
(c) Purchases commercial advertising space or broadcast time to
promote his or her candidacy; or
(d) Gives his or her consent to another person to take on behalf of
the individual any of the actions in (a) or (c) of this subsection.
(((9))) (7) "Caucus political committee" means a political
committee organized and maintained by the members of a major political
party in the state senate or state house of representatives.
(((10))) (8) "Clearly identified candidate" means:
(a) The name of the candidate involved appears;
(b) A photograph or drawing of the candidate appears; or
(c) The identity of the candidate is apparent by unambiguous
reference.
(9) "Commercial advertiser" means any person who sells the service
of communicating messages or producing printed material for broadcast
or distribution to the general public or segments of the general public
whether through the use of newspapers, magazines, television and radio
stations, billboard companies, direct mail advertising companies,
printing companies, or otherwise.
(((11))) (10) "Commission" means the agency established under RCW
42.17.350.
(((12))) (11) "Compensation" unless the context requires a narrower
meaning, includes payment in any form for real or personal property or
services of any kind: PROVIDED, That for the purpose of compliance
with RCW 42.17.241, the term "compensation" shall not include per diem
allowances or other payments made by a governmental entity to reimburse
a public official for expenses incurred while the official is engaged
in the official business of the governmental entity.
(((13))) (12) "Continuing political committee" means a political
committee that is an organization of continuing existence not
established in anticipation of any particular election campaign.
(((14))) (13)(a) "Contribution" includes:
(i) A loan, gift, deposit, subscription, forgiveness of
indebtedness, donation, advance, pledge, payment, transfer of funds
between political committees, or anything of value, including personal
and professional services for less than full consideration;
(ii) 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;
(iii) 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 its authorized agent;
(iv) Sums paid for tickets to fund-raising events such as dinners
and parties, except for the actual cost of the consumables furnished at
the event.
(b) "Contribution" does not include:
(i) Standard interest on money 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 political committee;
(iv) A news item, feature, commentary, or editorial in a regularly
scheduled news medium that is of primary interest to the general
public, that is in a news medium controlled by a person whose business
is that news medium, and that is not controlled by a candidate or a
political committee;
(v) An internal political communication primarily limited to the
members of or contributors to a political party organization or
political committee, or to the officers, management staff, or
stockholders of a corporation or similar enterprise, or to the members
of a labor organization or other membership organization;
(vi) 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 section, means services or labor for which the
individual is not compensated by any person;
(vii) Messages in the form of reader boards, banners, or yard or
window signs displayed on a person's own property or property occupied
by a person. However, a facility used for such political advertising
for which a rental charge is normally made must be reported as an in-kind contribution and counts towards any applicable contribution limit
of the person providing the facility;
(viii) Legal or accounting services rendered to or on behalf of:
(A) A political party or caucus political committee if the person
paying for the services is the regular employer of the person rendering
such services; or
(B) A candidate or an authorized committee if the person paying for
the services is the regular employer of the individual rendering the
services and if the services are solely for the purpose of ensuring
compliance with state election or public disclosure laws.
(c) Contributions other than money or its equivalent are deemed to
have a monetary value equivalent to the fair market value of the
contribution. Services or property or rights furnished at less than
their fair market value for the purpose of assisting any candidate or
political committee are deemed a contribution. Such a contribution
must be reported as an in-kind contribution at its fair market value
and counts towards any applicable contribution limit of the provider.
(14) "Depository" means a bank designated by a candidate or
political committee under RCW 42.17.050.
(15) "Elected official" means any person elected at a general or
special election to any public office, and any person appointed to fill
a vacancy in any such office.
(16) "Election" includes any primary, general, or special election
for public office and any election in which a ballot proposition is
submitted to the voters: PROVIDED, That an election in which the
qualifications for voting include other than those requirements set
forth in Article VI, section 1 (Amendment 63) of the Constitution of
the state of Washington shall not be considered an election for
purposes of this chapter.
(17) "Election campaign" means any campaign in support of or in
opposition to a candidate for election to public office and any
campaign in support of, or in opposition to, a ballot proposition.
(18) "Election cycle" means the period beginning on the first day
of December after the date of the last previous general election for
the office that the candidate seeks and ending on November 30th after
the next election for the office. In the case of a special election to
fill a vacancy in an office, "election cycle" means the period
beginning on the day the vacancy occurs and ending on November 30th
after the special election.
(19) (a) "Electioneering communication" means a broadcast, cable,
or satellite communication that:
(i) Refers to a clearly identified candidate involved with a state
elective campaign under RCW 42.17.030; and
(ii) Is made within:
(A) Sixty days before a general, special, or runoff election for
the office sought by the candidate; or
(B) Thirty days before a primary or preference election, or a
convention or caucus of a political party that has authority to
nominate a candidate, for the office sought by the candidate; and
(iii) Is targeted to the relevant electorate.
(b) "Electioneering communication" does not include:
(i) A communication appearing in a news story, commentary, or
editorial distributed through the facilities of a broadcasting station,
unless the facilities are owned or controlled by a political party,
political committee, or candidate;
(ii) A communication that constitutes an expenditure or an
independent expenditure;
(iii) A communication that constitutes a candidate debate or forum
conducted under rules adopted by the commission, or that solely
promotes such a debate or forum and is made by or on behalf of the
person sponsoring the debate or forum; or
(iv) Any other communication exempted under rules adopted by the
commission to ensure the appropriate implementation of this subsection.
(c) For purposes of this subsection, a communication that refers to
a clearly identified candidate for state office is "targeted to the
relevant electorate" if the communication can be received by five
thousand or more persons:
(i) In the district the candidate seeks to represent, in the case
of a candidate elected by an individual voting district; or
(ii) In this state, in the case of a candidate for a statewide
office.
(20) "Expenditure" includes a payment, contribution, subscription,
distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of
value, and includes a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or not
legally enforceable, to make an expenditure. The term "expenditure"
also includes a promise to pay, a payment, or a transfer of anything of
value in exchange for goods, services, property, facilities, or
anything of value for the purpose of assisting, benefiting, or honoring
any public official or candidate, or assisting in furthering or
opposing any election campaign. For the purposes of this chapter,
agreements to make expenditures, contracts, and promises to pay may be
reported as estimated obligations until actual payment is made. The
term "expenditure" shall not include the partial or complete repayment
by a candidate or political committee of the principal of a loan, the
receipt of which loan has been properly reported.
(((20))) (21) "Final report" means the report described as a final
report in RCW 42.17.080(2).
(((21))) (22) "General election" for the purposes of RCW 42.17.640
means the election that results in the election of a person to a state
office. It does not include a primary.
(((22))) (23) "Gift," is as defined in RCW 42.52.010.
(((23))) (24) "Immediate family" includes the spouse, dependent
children, and other dependent relatives, if living in the household.
For the purposes of RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790, "immediate family"
means an individual's spouse, and child, stepchild, grandchild, parent,
stepparent, grandparent, brother, half brother, sister, or half sister
of the individual and the spouse of any such person and a child,
stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, half
brother, sister, or half sister of the individual's spouse and the
spouse of any such person.
(((24))) (25) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure that
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 that 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 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 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 political
advertising that either specifically names the candidate supported or
opposed, or clearly ((and beyond any doubt)) identifies the 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 series of expenditures, each of which is under five hundred
dollars, constitutes one independent expenditure if their cumulative
value is five hundred dollars or more.
(((25))) (26)(a) "Intermediary" means an individual who transmits
a contribution to a candidate or committee from another person unless
the contribution is from the individual's employer, immediate family as
defined for purposes of RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790, or an
association to which the individual belongs.
(b) A treasurer or a candidate is not an intermediary for purposes
of the committee that the treasurer or candidate serves.
(c) A professional fund-raiser is not an intermediary if the fund-raiser is compensated for fund-raising services at the usual and
customary rate.
(d) A volunteer hosting a fund-raising event at the individual's
home is not an intermediary for purposes of that event.
(((26))) (27) "Legislation" means bills, resolutions, motions,
amendments, nominations, and other matters pending or proposed in
either house of the state legislature, and includes any other matter
that may be the subject of action by either house or any committee of
the legislature and all bills and resolutions that, having passed both
houses, are pending approval by the governor.
(((27))) (28) "Lobby" and "lobbying" each mean attempting to
influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by the legislature
of the state of Washington, or the adoption or rejection of any rule,
standard, rate, or other legislative enactment of any state agency
under the state Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.05 RCW.
Neither "lobby" nor "lobbying" includes an association's or other
organization's act of communicating with the members of that
association or organization.
(((28))) (29) "Lobbyist" includes any person who lobbies either in
his or her own or another's behalf.
(((29))) (30) "Lobbyist's employer" means the person or persons by
whom a lobbyist is employed and all persons by whom he or she is
compensated for acting as a lobbyist.
(((30))) (31) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, joint
venture, public or private corporation, association, federal, state, or
local governmental entity or agency however constituted, candidate,
committee, political committee, political party, executive committee
thereof, or any other organization or group of persons, however
organized.
(((31))) (32) "Person in interest" means the person who is the
subject of a record or any representative designated by that person,
except that if that person is under a legal disability, the term
"person in interest" means and includes the parent or duly appointed
legal representative.
(((32))) (33) "Political advertising" includes any advertising
displays, newspaper ads, billboards, signs, brochures, articles,
tabloids, flyers, letters, radio or television presentations, or other
means of mass communication, used for the purpose of appealing,
directly or indirectly, for votes or for financial or other support in
any election campaign.
(((33))) (34) "Political committee" means any person (except a
candidate or an individual dealing with his or her own funds or
property) having the expectation of receiving contributions or making
expenditures in support of, or opposition to, any candidate or any
ballot proposition.
(((34))) (35) "Primary" for the purposes of RCW 42.17.640 means the
procedure for nominating a candidate to state office under chapter
((29.18 or 29.21)) 29A.52 RCW or any other primary for an election that
uses, in large measure, the procedures established in chapter ((29.18
or 29.21)) 29A.52 RCW.
(((35))) (36) "Public office" means any federal, state, judicial,
county, city, town, school district, port district, special district,
or other state political subdivision elective office.
(((36))) (37) "Public record" includes any writing containing
information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of
any governmental or proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or
retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or
characteristics. For the office of the secretary of the senate and the
office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives, public
records means legislative records as defined in RCW 40.14.100 and also
means the following: All budget and financial records; personnel
leave, travel, and payroll records; records of legislative sessions;
reports submitted to the legislature; and any other record designated
a public record by any official action of the senate or the house of
representatives.
(((37))) (38) "Recall campaign" means the period of time beginning
on the date of the filing of recall charges under RCW ((29.82.015))
29A.56.120 and ending thirty days after the recall election.
(((38))) (39) "State election activity" means:
(a) Voter registration activity during the period that begins one
hundred twenty days before the date of a regularly scheduled state
election and ends on the date of the election;
(b) Voter identification, get-out-the-vote activity, or generic
campaign activity conducted in connection with an election in which a
candidate for state office appears on the ballot;
(c) A public communication that refers to a clearly identified
candidate for state office and that promotes or supports a candidate
for that office, or attacks or opposes a candidate for that office,
regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates a vote for
or against a candidate; or
(d) Services provided during any month by an employee of a state,
district, or local committee of a political party who spends more than
twenty-five percent of that individual's compensated time during that
month on activities in connection with a state election.
(40) "State legislative office" means the office of a member of the
state house of representatives or the office of a member of the state
senate.
(((39))) (41) "State office" means state legislative office or the
office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney
general, commissioner of public lands, insurance commissioner,
superintendent of public instruction, state auditor, or state
treasurer.
(((40))) (42) "State official" means a person who holds a state
office.
(((41))) (43) "Surplus funds" mean, in the case of a political
committee or candidate, the balance of contributions that remain in the
possession or control of that committee or candidate subsequent to the
election for which the contributions were received, and that are in
excess of the amount necessary to pay remaining debts incurred by the
committee or candidate prior to that election. In the case of a
continuing political committee, "surplus funds" mean those
contributions remaining in the possession or control of the committee
that are in excess of the amount necessary to pay all remaining debts
when it makes its final report under RCW 42.17.065.
(((42))) (44) "Treasurer" and "deputy treasurer" means the
individuals appointed by a candidate or political committee, under RCW
42.17.050, to perform the duties specified in that section.
(45) "Writing" means handwriting, typewriting, printing,
photostating, photographing, and every other means of recording any
form of communication or representation, including, but not limited to,
letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combination thereof,
and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and
prints, motion picture, film and video recordings, magnetic or punched
cards, discs, drums, diskettes, sound recordings, and other documents
including existing data compilations from which information may be
obtained or translated.
As used in this chapter, the singular shall take the plural and any
gender, the other, as the context requires.
Sec. 2 RCW 42.17.103 and 2001 c 54 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The sponsor of political advertising who, within ((twenty-one))
sixty days of ((an)) a general election, or thirty days before a
primary election, publishes, mails, or otherwise presents to the public
political advertising supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot
proposition that qualifies as an independent expenditure with a fair
market value of ((one thousand)) five hundred dollars or more shall
deliver, either electronically or in written form, a special report to
the commission within twenty-four hours of, or on the first working day
after, the date the political advertising is first contracted for. If
no written contract is executed, then the report must be delivered
within twenty-four hours of, or on the first working day after, the
political advertising is first published, mailed, or otherwise
presented to the public.
(2) The sponsor of an electioneering communication who, within
sixty days of a general election, or thirty days before a primary
election, broadcasts or otherwise presents to the public an
electioneering communication supporting or opposing a candidate or
ballot proposition that qualifies as an independent expenditure with a
fair market value of two thousand dollars shall deliver, either
electronically or in written form, a special report to the commission
within twenty-four hours of, or on the first working day after, the
date the electioneering communication is contracted for. If no written
contract is executed, then the report must be delivered within twenty-
four hours of, or on the first working day after, the date the
electioneering communication is first broadcast or otherwise presented
to the public.
(3) If a sponsor is required to file a special report under this
section, the sponsor shall also deliver to the commission within the
delivery periods established in subsections (1) and (2) of this section
a special report for each subsequent independent expenditure of any
size supporting or opposing the same candidate who was the subject of
the previous independent expenditure, supporting or opposing that
candidate's opponent, or supporting or opposing the same ballot
proposition that was the subject of the previous independent
expenditure.
(((3))) (4) The special report must include at least:
(a) The name and address of the person making the expenditure;
(b) The name and address of the person to whom the expenditure was
made;
(c) A detailed description of the expenditure;
(d) The date the expenditure was made and the date the political
advertising was first published or otherwise presented to the public;
(e) The amount of the expenditure;
(f) The name of the candidate supported or opposed by the
expenditure, the office being sought by the candidate, and whether the
expenditure supports or opposes the candidate; or the name of the
ballot proposition supported or opposed by the expenditure and whether
the expenditure supports or opposes the ballot proposition; and
(g) Any other information the commission may require by rule.
(((4))) (5) All persons required to report under RCW 42.17.080,
42.17.090, and 42.17.100 are subject to the requirements of this
section. The commission may determine that reports filed pursuant to
this section also satisfy the requirements of RCW 42.17.100.
(((5))) (6) The sponsor of independent expenditures supporting a
candidate or opposing that candidate's opponent required to report
under this section shall file with each required report an affidavit or
declaration of the person responsible for making the independent
expenditure that the expenditure was not made in cooperation,
consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, the
candidate, the candidate's authorized committee, or the candidate's
agent, or with the encouragement or approval of the candidate, the
candidate's authorized committee, or the candidate's agent.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A state contractor may not make, either directly or indirectly,
any contribution or expenditure of money or other thing of value, or
promise to make any such contribution or expenditure to any political
party, committee, or candidate for statewide office or state
legislative office or to any person for any political purpose or use.
(2) A person may not knowingly solicit any such contribution from
a state contractor.
(3) For purposes of this section, "state contractor" means a person
who:
(a) Enters into any contract with the state or any department or
agency of the state for (i) the rendition of personal services; (ii)
furnishing any material, supplies, or equipment; or (iii) selling any
land or buildings; and
(b) Receives as payment for the performance of the contract funds
appropriated by the legislature.
(4) The period during which a person is prohibited from making a
contribution or expenditure is the time between the earlier of the
commencement of negotiations or when the request for proposals are sent
out, and the later of completion of performance under the contract or
the termination of negotiations for the contract.
Sec. 4 RCW 42.17.640 and 2001 c 208 s 1 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)) public 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)) public
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)) public official, during a recall campaign
that in the aggregate exceed five hundred dollars ((if)) for a ((state
legislative)) public 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)) an elected official against whom recall charges have been
filed, or to a political committee having the expectation of making
expenditures in support of the ((state)) elected 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)) elected 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)) elected 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)) an elected 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)) an elected 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)) an elected 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)) an elected 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)) an elected 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))
an elected official against whom recall charges have been filed, or a
political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in
support of the recall of ((a state)) an elected 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) A candidate for public office may not accept more than one
thousand dollars in the aggregate from political action committees for
each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a
write-in candidate.
(14) No person may accept contributions that exceed the
contribution limitations provided in this section.
(((14))) (15) 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.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW
to read as follows:
A corporation or labor organization may not use general treasury
funds for the purpose of making contributions or expenditures to
influence an election.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 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.