H-3775.1

HOUSE BILL 2540

ByRepresentatives Maycumber, Lekanoff, Chapman, Senn, Rude, Mead, Walen, Duerr, Chambers, Riccelli, Harris, Van Werven, Stonier, Kloba, Leavitt, Davis, Doglio, Dufault, Pollet, and Macri

AN ACT Relating to clarifying when campaign funds may be used for child care expenses; and amending RCW 42.17A.445.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 42.17A.445 and 2010 c 204 s 608 are each amended to read as follows:

Contributions received and reported in accordance with RCW 42.17A.220 through 42.17A.240 and 42.17A.425 may only be paid to a candidate, or a treasurer or other individual or expended for such individual's personal use under the following circumstances:

(1) Reimbursement for or payments to cover lost earnings incurred as a result of campaigning or services performed for the political committee. Lost earnings shall be verifiable as unpaid salary, or when the individual is not salaried, as an amount not to exceed income received by the individual for services rendered during an appropriate, corresponding time period. All lost earnings incurred shall be documented and a record shall be maintained by the candidate or the candidate's authorized committee in accordance with RCW 42.17A.235.

(2) Reimbursement for direct out-of-pocket election campaign and postelection campaign related expenses made by the individual. Child care expenses are considered campaign-related expenses if the expenses were incurred solely as a result of the campaign. To receive reimbursement from the political committee, the individual shall provide the political committee with written documentation as to the amount, date, and description of each expense, and the political committee shall include a copy of such information when its expenditure for such reimbursement is reported pursuant to RCW 42.17A.240.

(3) Repayment of loans made by the individual to political committees shall be reported pursuant to RCW 42.17A.240. However, contributions may not be used to reimburse a candidate for loans totaling more than four thousand seven hundred dollars made by the candidate to the candidate's own authorized committee.

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