In 1972 Washington's voters approved the state's campaign finance disclosure law, also known as the Fair Campaign Practices Act (Act), to promote disclosure of information regarding the financing of political campaigns and lobbying. These laws govern the state's campaign finance requirements by, among other things, requiring campaign finance reporting and setting contribution limits.

Through the Act, state voters approved creation of the state's Public Disclosure Commission (Commission). The Commission is charged with providing public access to information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates. The Commission works to ensure compliance with and enforcement of Washington's disclosure and campaign finance laws.

Provisions on campaign disclosure and contribution are recodified and reorganized under a new title, 29B.

PRO: The Legislature is the steward of the Washington code and therefore, it's appropriate from time to time to improve the code to make sure as the law evolves, it remains flexible and accessible for change. This reorganization would benefit both the understanding and administration of the law. The bill is intended to be technical, and we are not seeking any substantive changes with the law.

CON: If this change were to go through, it would make it more difficult for campaign treasurers to understand what statutes are being referenced in documents.

OTHER: There is not a particularly compelling reason to reorganize these statutes and there is potential for short term confusion. There are higher priorities to consider for campaign finance.