HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 657

BYHouse Committee on Constitution, Elections & Ethics (originally sponsored by Representatives Fisher, Sanders, H. Sommers, Miller, Lewis, Prince, Jacobsen, Fisch, Taylor, Jesernig, Wang, D. Sommers, Sutherland, Kremen, May, Brough, Ferguson, L. Smith, Cooper, Betrozoff, Hankins and Spanel; by request of Public Disclosure Commission)

Prohibiting false political advertising.

House Committe on Constitution, Elections & Ethics

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (7)

     Signed by Representatives Fisher, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; Amondson, Barnes, Fisch, Leonard and Sanders.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS PASSED HOUSE JANUARY 18, 1988

BACKGROUND:

The public disclosure statutes prohibit a person from sponsoring political advertising which contains information the person knows to be false.  A person or candidate shall not make, directly or indirectly, a false claim stating or implying the support or endorsement of a person or organization.  No political advertising may falsely represent that a candidate is an incumbent for the office sought.  In general, the responsibility for complying with the disclosure laws regulating political advertising rests with the sponsor of the advertising.

SUMMARY:

Provisions of the public disclosure statutes prohibiting various forms of false information in political advertising are amended.  The prohibitions apply to a person's sponsoring political advertising containing such information with knowledge of falsity or with reckless disregard as to truth or falsity.  Such actions by a person are violations of the public disclosure statutes.  The violations must be proven by clear and convincing evidence.

The term "sponsor" is defined for the purposes of the political advertising statutes.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  The responsibility for complying with the political advertising provisions of the public disclosure statutes is changed.  Rather than the person responsible for compliance being the sponsor of the advertising (as under current law), the person responsible is the person who sponsors or prepares the advertising or causes it to be prepared.

The amendments prohibit funds solicited by a charitable organization from being used as campaign contributions unless the charitable organization using the funds in this manner:  discloses to the donor in writing before receiving the funds that all or part of the funds may be used in this manner; files a statement with the Secretary of State regarding such a use of the funds; segregates the funds used for this purpose from other funds; and files certain disclosure reports with the Public Disclosure Commission.

Fiscal Note:    Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Graham Johnson, Public Disclosure Commission.

House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:     On two occasions, superior courts have questioned the constitutionality of state law regarding false political advertising.  This bill corrects the portion of the current law the constitutionality of which was questioned in those cases.

House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

     Yeas 92; Excused 6

Excused:   Representatives Allen, Bumgarner, King R, Schoon, Smith C, Todd