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                           ENGROSSED HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4418

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Hine, Miller, R. Fisher and Anderson

Read first time 4/23/89. Rules suspended; Read second and third times and adopted.

WHEREAS,  The integrity of the electoral process is essential to the preservation of a free and democratic society; and

          WHEREAS, The central element of this process is the unfettered exchange of ideas between citizens and candidates for public office; and

          WHEREAS, In recent years, the cost of conducting a campaign for state office has become alarmingly and unacceptably high; and

          WHEREAS, The pressure on candidates to raise and spend large sums of money has created a political climate where the financial strength of individuals or special interest groups may permit them to exercise a potentially corrupting influence on the electoral process; and

          WHEREAS, The public perception of such corruption and the potential for actual corruption undermines the credibility and integrity of our public officials and candidates for public office, thus undermining the people's faith that they are being fairly and honestly represented; and

          WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the Legislature to address the increasing role of money in political campaigns and to ensure the preservation of an electoral process where each vote carries equal weight and every candidate can be heard; and

          WHEREAS, The House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Washington have each independently examined these concerns regarding campaign financing and have each independently attempted to develop campaign financing reforms which would restore the public trust and participation in this fundamental aspect of the electoral process; and

          WHEREAS, These actions taken independently by the House of Representatives and Senate, though taken in earnest, have failed to identify a body of reforms upon which the two chambers have been able to agree;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, the Senate concurring, that a joint select task force on campaign finance reform shall be established to develop legislation providing reforms in the laws governing the financing of campaigns for state offices which are acceptable to the Legislature as a whole; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the task force shall consist of sixteen members appointed in the following manner:

          (1) Four members shall be from the Senate, two from the majority party caucus and two from the minority party caucus, appointed by the President of the Senate; and

          (2) Four members shall be from the House of Representatives, two from the majority party caucus and two from the minority party caucus, appointed by the Speaker of the House; and

          (3) Six members shall be representatives of public interest groups or associations with an interest in the issue, nominated by the members of those groups or associations, and then appointed, three by the Speaker and three by the President; and

          (4) One member shall be the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party or the chair's appointed representative; and

          (5) One member shall be the chair of the Washington State Republican Party or the chair's appointed representative; and

          (6) Two cochairs of the committee shall be appointed from among all these members, one by the Speaker and one by the President, and that the committee shall receive staff support as directed by the Speaker and the President; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the process for forming the committee shall begin immediately, and that the committee shall report its recommendations to the Legislature in the form of proposed legislation by January 1, 1991.