HB 1397

Brief Description: Concerning personal financial affairs statement reporting requirements for elected and appointed officials, candidates, and appointees.

Sponsors: Representatives Holy, Bergquist, Appleton, Van Werven and McBride; by request of Public Disclosure Commission.

Hearing Date: 2/4/15

Staff: Marsha Reilly (786-7135).

Background:

The campaign finance disclosure law requires elected officials, executive state officers, and certain legislative employees to file statements of financial affairs for the preceding calendar year to the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). A financial disclosure statement discloses information on a number of subjects for the person who files the statement and his or her immediate family, including investments and real estate. In certain instances such matters must be reported only if the value exceeds a specified amount. The reporting of a value for these items is done using ranges of dollar values, rather than specific dollar amounts, for instance:

• code A is less than $4,000;

• code B is at least $4,000 but less than $20,000;

• code C is at least $20,000 but less than $40,000;

• code D is at least $40,000 but less than $100,000;

• code E is $100,000 or more.

The PDC may suspend or modify a reporting requirement if, after a hearing and a majority vote, it finds that reporting results in an unreasonable hardship.

Summary of Bill:

The dollar thresholds for reporting personal financial affairs are changed as follows:

• bank accounts, savings accounts, and insurance policies: from $20,000 to $24,000;

• intangible personal property: from $2,000 to $5,000;

• amounts owed creditors: from $2,000 to $2,400;

• compensation from a governmental entity, corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, association, union, or other business or commercial entity: from $2,000 to $2,400;

• real property: from $10,000 to $12,000; and

• financial interest in real property held by a corporation, partnership, firm, etc., in which filer has financial interest of 10 percent or more: from $20,000 to $24,000.

The dollar value of the reporting ranges is changed as follows:

• code A is less than $30,000;

• code B is at least $30,000 but less than $60,000;

• code C is at least $60,000 but less than $100,000;

• code D is at least $100,000 but less than $200,000;

• code E is at least $200,000 but less than $500,000;

• code F is at least $500,000 but less than $750,000;

• code G is at least $750,000 but less than $1,000,000; and

• code H is $1,000,000 or more.

Reporting of intangible personal property requires inclusion of the name and nature of the direct financial interest. Ownership of shares of multiple mutual funds within the same mutual fund family may be disclosed by the mutual fund family name. In reporting investments and real estate, the year-end value may be reported rather than the highest value during the reporting period.

Judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, or their immediate family members are exempted from disclosing the mailing address of the real property in which they reside. Disclosure requirements are satisfied by listing the city or town where the property is located.

A suspension or modification of reporting personal financial affairs may be approved for an elected official's term of office, or for up to three years for an executive state officer where no material change is anticipated.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.