BILL REQ. #:  H-3430.1 

Prefiled 1/5/2006. Read first time 01/09/2006.   Referred to Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability.

     AN ACT Relating to campaign contribution limitations; amending RCW 42.17.370 and 42.17.640; adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW; and repealing RCW 42.17.690.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 42.17.370 and 1995 c 397 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
     The commission is empowered to:
     (1) Adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable administrative rules to carry out the policies and purposes of this chapter, which rules shall be adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW. Any rule relating to campaign finance, political advertising, or related forms that would otherwise take effect after June 30th of a general election year shall take effect no earlier than the day following the general election in that year;
     (2) Appoint and set, within the limits established by the committee on agency officials' salaries under RCW 43.03.028, the compensation of an executive director who shall perform such duties and have such powers as the commission may prescribe and delegate to implement and enforce this chapter efficiently and effectively. The commission shall not delegate its authority to adopt, amend, or rescind rules nor shall it delegate authority to determine whether an actual violation of this chapter has occurred or to assess penalties for such violations;
     (3) Prepare and publish such reports and technical studies as in its judgment will tend to promote the purposes of this chapter, including reports and statistics concerning campaign financing, lobbying, financial interests of elected officials, and enforcement of this chapter;
     (4) Make from time to time, on its own motion, audits and field investigations;
     (5) Make public the time and date of any formal hearing set to determine whether a violation has occurred, the question or questions to be considered, and the results thereof;
     (6) Administer oaths and affirmations, issue subpoenas, and compel attendance, take evidence and require the production of any books, papers, correspondence, memorandums, or other records relevant or material for the purpose of any investigation authorized under this chapter, or any other proceeding under this chapter;
     (7) Adopt and promulgate a code of fair campaign practices;
     (8) Relieve, by rule, candidates or political committees of obligations to comply with the provisions of this chapter relating to election campaigns, if they have not received contributions nor made expenditures in connection with any election campaign of more than one thousand dollars;
     (9) Adopt rules prescribing reasonable requirements for keeping accounts of and reporting on a quarterly basis costs incurred by state agencies, counties, cities, and other municipalities and political subdivisions in preparing, publishing, and distributing legislative information. The term "legislative information," for the purposes of this subsection, means books, pamphlets, reports, and other materials prepared, published, or distributed at substantial cost, a substantial purpose of which is to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation. The state auditor in his or her regular examination of each agency under chapter 43.09 RCW shall review the rules, accounts, and reports and make appropriate findings, comments, and recommendations in his or her examination reports concerning those agencies;
     (10) After hearing, by order approved and ratified by a majority of the membership of the commission, suspend or modify any of the reporting requirements of this chapter in a particular case if it finds that literal application of this chapter works a manifestly unreasonable hardship and if it also finds that the suspension or modification will not frustrate the purposes of the chapter. The commission shall find that a manifestly unreasonable hardship exists if reporting the name of an entity required to be reported under RCW 42.17.241(1)(g)(ii) would be likely to adversely affect the competitive position of any entity in which the person filing the report or any member of his or her immediate family holds any office, directorship, general partnership interest, or an ownership interest of ten percent or more. Any suspension or modification shall be only to the extent necessary to substantially relieve the hardship. The commission shall act to suspend or modify any reporting requirements only if it determines that facts exist that are clear and convincing proof of the findings required under this section. Requests for renewals of reporting modifications may be heard in a brief adjudicative proceeding as set forth in RCW 34.05.482 through 34.05.494 and in accordance with the standards established in this section. No initial request may be heard in a brief adjudicative proceeding and no request for renewal may be heard in a brief adjudicative proceeding if the initial request was granted more than three years previously or if the applicant is holding an office or position of employment different from the office or position held when the initial request was granted. The commission shall adopt administrative rules governing the proceedings. Any citizen has standing to bring an action in Thurston county superior court to contest the propriety of any order entered under this section within one year from the date of the entry of the order; and
     (11) Revise, at least once every five years but no more often than every two years, the monetary reporting thresholds and reporting code values of this chapter, except for the monetary values established in RCW 42.17.640. The revisions shall be only for the purpose of recognizing economic changes as reflected by an inflationary index recommended by the office of financial management. The revisions shall be guided by the change in the index for the period commencing with the month of December preceding the last revision and concluding with the month of December preceding the month the revision is adopted. As to each of the three general categories of this chapter (reports of campaign finance, reports of lobbyist activity, and reports of the financial affairs of elected and appointed officials), the revisions shall equally affect all thresholds within each category. Revisions shall be adopted as rules under chapter 34.05 RCW. The first revision authorized by this subsection shall reflect economic changes from the time of the last legislative enactment affecting the respective code or threshold through December 1985;
     (12) Develop and provide to filers a system for certification of reports required under this chapter which are transmitted by facsimile or electronically to the commission. Implementation of the program is contingent on the availability of funds.

Sec. 2   RCW 42.17.640 and 2005 c 445 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No person, other than a bona fide political party or a caucus political committee, may make contributions to a candidate for ((a state legislative)) public office that in the aggregate exceed ((seven)) five hundred dollars ((or to a candidate for a state office other than a state legislative office that in the aggregate exceed one thousand four hundred dollars)) for each election cycle in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. Contributions made with respect to a primary may not be made after the date of the primary. However, contributions to a candidate or a candidate's authorized committee may be made with respect to a primary until thirty days after the primary, subject to the following limitations: (a) The candidate lost the primary; (b) the candidate's authorized committee has insufficient funds to pay debts outstanding as of the date of the primary; and (c) the contributions may only be raised and spent to satisfy the outstanding debt. Contributions made with respect to a general election may not be made after the final day of the applicable election cycle.
     (2) ((No person, other than a bona fide political party or a caucus political committee, may make contributions to a state official against whom recall charges have been filed, or to a political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the recall of the state official, during a recall campaign that in the aggregate exceed seven hundred dollars if for a state legislative office or one thousand four hundred dollars if for a state office other than a state legislative office)) For purposes of this section, an election means a primary, special, general, or recall election. Contributions made to one election shall not be counted toward any of the limitations that apply to the candidate or to contributions made to the candidate for another election.
     (3)(a) ((Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section,)) No bona fide political party or caucus political committee may make contributions to a candidate ((during)) for an election ((cycle)) that in the aggregate exceed (i) ((seventy)) fifty cents multiplied by the number of eligible registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected if the contributor is a caucus political committee or the governing body of a state organization, or (ii) ((thirty-five)) twenty-five cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected if the contributor is a county central committee or a legislative district committee.
     (b) No candidate may accept contributions from a county central committee or a legislative district committee during an election cycle that when combined with contributions from other county central committees or legislative district committees would in the aggregate exceed ((thirty-five)) twenty-five cents times the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected.
     (c) No elected public official against whom recall charges have been filed, no authorized committee of the official, and no political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the recall of an elected public official may accept contributions from a county central committee or a legislative district committee during an election cycle that when combined with contributions from other county central committees or legislative district committees would in the aggregate exceed twenty-five cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected.
     (4)(((a) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, no bona fide political party or caucus political committee may make contributions to a state official against whom recall charges have been filed, or to a political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the state official, during a recall campaign that in the aggregate exceed (i) seventy cents multiplied by the number of eligible registered voters in the jurisdiction entitled to recall the state official if the contributor is a caucus political committee or the governing body of a state organization, or (ii) thirty-five cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected if the contributor is a county central committee or a legislative district committee.
     (b) No state official against whom recall charges have been filed, no authorized committee of the official, and no political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the recall of a state official may accept contributions from a county central committee or a legislative district committee during an election cycle that when combined with contributions from other county central committees or legislative district committees would in the aggregate exceed thirty-five cents multiplied by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction from which the candidate is elected.
     (5))) For purposes of determining contribution limits under subsection((s)) (3) ((and (4))) of this section, the number of eligible registered voters in a jurisdiction is the number at the time of the most recent general election in the jurisdiction.
     (((6) Notwithstanding subsections (1) through (4) of this section,)) (5) No person ((other than an individual, bona fide political party, or caucus political committee)) may make contributions reportable under this chapter to a caucus political committee, a bona fide political party, or a political committee, that in the aggregate exceed seven hundred dollars in a calendar year ((or to a bona fide political party that in the aggregate exceed three thousand five hundred dollars in a calendar year)). This subsection does not apply to loans made in the ordinary course of business.
     (((7))) (6) For the purposes of RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790, a contribution to the authorized political committee of a candidate, or of ((a state)) an elected public official against whom recall charges have been filed, is considered to be a contribution to the candidate or ((state)) public official.
     (((8))) (7) A contribution received within the twelve-month period after a recall election concerning a ((state)) public office is considered to be a contribution during that recall campaign if the contribution is used to pay a debt or obligation incurred to influence the outcome of that recall campaign.
     (((9) The contributions allowed by subsection (2) of this section are in addition to those allowed by subsection (1) of this section, and the contributions allowed by subsection (4) of this section are in addition to those allowed by subsection (3) of this section.
     (10) RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790 apply to a special election conducted to fill a vacancy in a state office. However, the contributions made to a candidate or received by a candidate for a primary or special election conducted to fill such a vacancy shall not be counted toward any of the limitations that apply to the candidate or to contributions made to the candidate for any other primary or election.
     (11))) (8) Notwithstanding the other subsections of this section, no corporation or business entity not doing business in Washington state, no labor union with fewer than ten members who reside in Washington state, and no political committee that has not received contributions of ten dollars or more from at least ten persons registered to vote in Washington state during the preceding one hundred eighty days may make contributions reportable under this chapter to a candidate, to ((a state)) an elected public official against whom recall charges have been filed, or to a political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the recall of the official. This subsection does not apply to loans made in the ordinary course of business.
     (((12) Notwithstanding the other subsections of this section, no county central committee or legislative district committee may make contributions reportable under this chapter to a candidate, state official against whom recall charges have been filed, or political committee having the expectation of making expenditures in support of the recall of a state official if the county central committee or legislative district committee is outside of the jurisdiction entitled to elect the candidate or recall the state official.
     (13))) (9) No person may accept contributions that exceed the contribution limitations provided in this section.
     (((14))) (10) The following contributions are exempt from the contribution limits of this section:
     (a) An expenditure or contribution earmarked for voter registration, for absentee ballot information, for precinct caucuses, for get-out-the-vote campaigns, for precinct judges or inspectors, for sample ballots, or for ballot counting, all without promotion of or political advertising for individual candidates; or
     (b) An expenditure by a political committee for its own internal organization or fund raising without direct association with individual candidates.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW to read as follows:
     A corporation or labor organization shall not use general treasury funds for the purpose of making contributions or expenditures to influence an election.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   RCW 42.17.690 (Changing monetary limits) and 1993 c 2 s 9 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.