Passed by the House January 27, 2012 Yeas 71   ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 1, 2012 Yeas 43   ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 2210 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
Prefiled 12/15/11. Read first time 01/09/12. Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.
AN ACT Relating to extending contribution limits to school board candidates; and reenacting and amending RCW 42.17A.405.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 42.17A.405 and 2010 c 206 s 1 and 2010 c 204 s 602 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) The contribution limits in this section apply to:
(a) Candidates for legislative office;
(b) Candidates for state office other than legislative office;
(c) Candidates for county office;
(d) Candidates for special purpose district office if that district
is authorized to provide freight and passenger transfer and terminal
facilities and that district has over two hundred thousand registered
voters;
(e) Candidates for city council office;
(f) Candidates for mayoral office;
(g) Candidates for school board office;
(h) Persons holding an office in (a) through (((f))) (g) of this
subsection against whom recall charges have been filed or to a
political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in
support of the recall of a person holding the office;
(((h))) (i) Caucus political committees;
(((i))) (j) Bona fide political parties.
(2) No person, other than a bona fide political party or a caucus
political committee, may make contributions to a candidate for a
legislative office, county office, city council office, ((or)) mayoral
office, or school board office that in the aggregate exceed eight
hundred dollars or to a candidate for a public office in a special
purpose district or a state office other than a legislative office that
in the aggregate exceed one thousand six hundred dollars for each
election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. Contributions to candidates subject to the limits in
this section 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 to
candidates subject to the limits in this section made with respect to
a general election may not be made after the final day of the
applicable election cycle.
(3) No person, other than a bona fide political party or a caucus
political committee, may make contributions to a state official, a
county official, a city official, a school board member, or a public
official in a special purpose district 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,
county official, city official, school board member, or public official
in a special purpose district during a recall campaign that in the
aggregate exceed eight hundred dollars if for a legislative office,
county office, school board office, or city office, or one thousand six
hundred dollars if for a special purpose district office or a state
office other than a legislative office.
(4)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (2) 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)
eighty 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) forty 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 forty cents times the number of registered voters in the
jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected.
(5)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, no bona fide
political party or caucus political committee may make contributions to
a state official, county official, city official, school board member,
or a public official in a special purpose district against whom recall
charges have been filed, or to a political committee having the
expectation of making expenditures in support of the state official,
county official, city official, school board member, or a public
official in a special purpose district during a recall campaign that in
the aggregate exceed (i) eighty 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) forty 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 official holding an office specified in subsection (1) of
this section 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 the
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 forty
cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction
from which the candidate is elected.
(6) For purposes of determining contribution limits under
subsections (4) and (5) 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.
(7) Notwithstanding subsections (2) through (5) 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
eight hundred dollars in a calendar year or to a bona fide political
party that in the aggregate exceed four thousand dollars in a calendar
year. This subsection does not apply to loans made in the ordinary
course of business.
(8) For the purposes of RCW 42.17A.125, 42.17A.405 through
42.17A.415, 42.17A.450 through 42.17A.495, 42.17A.500, 42.17A.560, and
42.17A.565, a contribution to the authorized political committee of a
candidate or of an official specified in subsection (1) of this section
against whom recall charges have been filed is considered to be a
contribution to the candidate or official.
(9) A contribution received within the twelve-month period after a
recall election concerning an office specified in subsection (1) of
this section 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.
(10) The contributions allowed by subsection (3) of this section
are in addition to those allowed by subsection (2) of this section, and
the contributions allowed by subsection (5) of this section are in
addition to those allowed by subsection (4) of this section.
(11) RCW 42.17A.125, 42.17A.405 through 42.17A.415, 42.17A.450
through 42.17A.495, 42.17A.500, 42.17A.560, and 42.17A.565 apply to a
special election conducted to fill a vacancy in an office specified in
subsection (1) of this section. 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.
(12) 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 state office
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.
(13) 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 specified in
subsection (1) of this section, or an official specified in subsection
(1) of this section against whom recall charges have been filed, or
political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in
support of the recall of an official specified in subsection (1) of
this section if the county central committee or legislative district
committee is outside of the jurisdiction entitled to elect the
candidate or recall the official.
(14) No person may accept contributions that exceed the
contribution limitations provided in this section.
(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;
(b) An expenditure by a political committee for its own internal
organization or fund-raising without direct association with individual
candidates; or
(c) An expenditure or contribution for independent expenditures as
defined in RCW 42.17A.005 or electioneering communications as defined
in RCW 42.17A.005.