S-372                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5260

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Talmadge and Murray

Read first time 1/20/89 and referred to Committee on   Education.

AN ACT Relating to elections of school district directors; adding a new section to chapter 28A.57 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that the escalating costs of financing election campaigns for school district board of director positions threatens to undermine the representative character of local school boards of directors and to place disproportionate influence over local school district affairs in the hands of persons and organizations of more than moderate financial means.  The legislature further finds that effective representative governance of local school districts, and the widest possible participation in the electoral process, would be enhanced by authorizing school district boards of directors to place reasonable limits on campaign expenditures and thereby help to insure that board of director election campaigns continue to rely heavily on discussion of issues, grass roots community efforts, and personal campaigning, rather than on fundraising ability, significant expenditures for advertising, and the like.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.57 RCW to read as follows:

          In connection with a primary or general election for board of director positions, the board of directors of any school district may, after holding a public hearing preceded by published notice in a daily newspaper of general circulation at least one week before the hearing, do one or both of the following:

          (1) Establish reasonable total dollar limits on individuals' and organizations' campaign contributions;

          (2) Authorize reasonable expenditures of district excess levy funds for direct campaign purposes, on a matching basis with private contributions, toward the election campaigns, and in conjunction with the election campaigns establish reasonable limits on total campaign expenditures.