Read first time 01/12/2007.   Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.

     AN ACT Relating to campaign contributions by limited liability companies; and amending RCW 42.17.660.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 42.17.660 and 2005 c 445 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     For purposes of this chapter:
     (1) A contribution by a political committee with funds that have all been contributed by one person who exercises exclusive control over the distribution of the funds of the political committee is a contribution by the controlling person.
     (2) Two or more entities are treated as a single entity if one of the two or more entities is a subsidiary, branch, or department of a corporation that is participating in an election campaign or making contributions, or a local unit or branch of a trade association, labor union, or collective bargaining association that is participating in an election campaign or making contributions. All contributions made by a person or political committee whose contribution or expenditure activity is financed, maintained, or controlled by a trade association, labor union, collective bargaining organization, or the local unit of a trade association, labor union, or collective bargaining organization are considered made by the trade association, labor union, collective bargaining organization, or local unit of a trade association, labor union, or collective bargaining organization.
     (3) A limited liability company and all of its affiliates are treated as a single person for contribution purposes. For purposes of this section: (a) An "affiliate" of a limited liability company is any person who directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the limited liability company; and (b) "control," including the terms "controlled by" and "under common control with" means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person whether through the ownership of voting securities, voting rights, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods, nonmanagement services, a debt obligation which is not convertible into a right to acquire a voting security, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. Control is presumed to exist if a person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing, ten percent or more of the voting securities of any other person.
     (4) The commission shall adopt rules to carry out this section and is not subject to the time restrictions of RCW 42.17.370(1).