FINAL BILL REPORT

SB 5258

C 138 L 13

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Aggregating the cost of related ballot measure advertisements for purposes of top five sponsor identification requirements.

Sponsors: Senators Benton, Roach, Hasegawa, Conway, Billig, Rivers and Fraser; by request of Public Disclosure Commission.

Senate Committee on Governmental Operations

House Committee on Government Operations & Elections

Background: All written political advertising must include the sponsor's name and address. Broadcasted political advertising must include the sponsor's name. All electioneering communications and political advertising undertaken as an independent expenditure by a person or entity other than a party organization must include a statement indicating that the advertisement is not authorized by any candidate, and information about who paid for the advertisement. If an advertisement is an electioneering communication or independent expenditure sponsored by a political committee, the top five contributions must be listed.

If the sponsor of the advertisement is a political committee established, maintained, or controlled directly or indirectly through the formation of one or more political committees, or by an individual, corporation, union, association, or other entity, the full name of that individual or entity must also be listed in the advertisement.

Independent expenditures pertain to advertisements made in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate. Electioneering communications are advertisements that clearly identify a candidate by either specifically naming the candidate, or identifying the candidate without using the candidate's name.

A political committee means any person, except a candidate or an individual dealing with personal funds or property, having the expectation of receiving contributions or making expenditures in support of, or opposition to, any candidate or any ballot proposition.

Political advertising costing $1,000 or more that supports or opposes a ballot measure, and is sponsored by a political committee, must include a listing of the names of the five persons or entities making the largest contributions in excess of $700 during the 12-month period before the date of the advertisement.

Summary: A political committee must list the names of its five largest contributors on broadcasted or written advertising that supports or opposes a ballot measure when the cumulative value of the committee's advertisements about that ballot measure is at least $1,000.

Yard signs, and other forms of advertising where identification is impractical, such as campaign buttons, balloons, pens, pencils, skywriting, and inscriptions, are exempt from the sponsor identification requirement.

Votes on Final Passage: