"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the purpose of this act to create a citizens' commission to establish proper campaign contribution limits, thus removing political considerations in fixing the appropriateness of the amount of such limits. The commission shall establish campaign contributions that protect citizen rights as provided for in Article I, section 5 of the state Constitution while ensuring public accountability and citizen access to elected office.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The Washington citizens' commission on campaign contribution limits is created to consist of fourteen members to be selected as provided in this section.
     (1) Seven of the fourteen commission members shall be selected by lot by the secretary of state from among those registered voters eligible to vote at the time persons are selected for appointment to full terms on the commission. No two members shall come from the same county. The secretary shall establish policies and procedures for conducting the selection by lot.
     (2) The remaining seven of the fourteen commission members, all residents of this state, shall be selected jointly by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate. All members shall serve four-year terms and the names of the seven persons selected in this subsection for appointment to the commission shall be forwarded to the governor no later than July 1st every two years.
     (3) No person may be appointed to more than two terms. No member of the commission may be removed during his or her term of office unless for cause of incapacity, incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, or for a disqualifying change of residence. The unexcused absence of any person who is a member of the commission from two consecutive meetings of the commission shall constitute the relinquishment of that person's membership on the commission. Such a relinquishment creates a vacancy in that person's position on the commission. A member's absence may be excused by the chair of the commission upon the member's written request if the chair believes there is just cause for the absence. Such a request must be received by the chair before the meeting for which the absence is to be excused. A member's absence from a meeting of the commission may also be excused during the meeting for which the member is absent by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commission present at the meeting.
     (4) No state official, public employee, or lobbyist, or immediate family member of the official, employee, or lobbyist, subject to the registration requirements of chapter 42.17 RCW, is eligible for membership on the commission. As used in this subsection, the phrase "immediate family" means the parents, spouse, siblings, children, or dependent relative of the official, employee, or lobbyist whether or not living in the household of the official, employee, or lobbyist.
     (5) Upon a vacancy in any position on the commission, a successor shall be selected and appointed to fill the unexpired term. The selection and appointment shall be concluded within thirty days of the date the position becomes vacant and shall be conducted in the same manner as originally provided.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The commission shall adopt a schedule of campaign contribution limits for:
     (a) Candidates for state legislative office;
     (b) Candidates for state office other than state legislative office;
     (c) Candidates for county office in a county that has over two hundred thousand registered voters;
     (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) Persons holding an office in (a) through (d) 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;
     (f) Caucus political committees;
     (g) Bona fide political parties;
     (h) Candidates for the state supreme court and court of appeals.
     (2) Members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be eligible to receive a subsistence allowance and travel expenses pursuant to RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (3) The members of the commission shall elect a chair from among their number. The commission shall set a schedule of campaign contribution limits by an affirmative vote of not less than eight members of the commission.
     (4) The commission shall file its initial schedule of campaign contribution limits for individuals included in subsection (1) of this section with the secretary of state no later than October 1, 2006, and shall file a schedule biennially thereafter. Each schedule shall be filed in legislative bill form, shall be assigned a chapter number and published with the session laws of the legislature, and shall be codified by the statute law committee. The signature of the chair of the commission shall be affixed to each schedule submitted to the secretary of state. The chair shall certify that the schedule has been adopted in accordance with the provisions of state law and with the rules, if any, of the commission. The schedules shall become effective ninety days after the filing thereof.
     (5) Before the filing of any campaign contribution limit schedule, the commission shall first develop a proposed schedule and then hold no fewer than four regular meetings as defined by chapter 42.30 RCW to take public testimony on the proposed schedule within the four months immediately preceding the filing. At the last public hearing that is held as a regular meeting on the proposed schedule, the commission shall adopt the schedule as originally proposed or as amended at that meeting that will be filed with the secretary of state.
     (6) All meetings, actions, hearings, and business of the commission shall be subject in full to the open public meetings act under chapter 42.30 RCW.
     (7) The campaign contribution limits filed by the commission shall take effect on January 1, 2007, and shall continue until modified by the commission under this section."