Title 42 — Title 42 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND AGENCIES

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Actual malice" means to act with knowledge of falsity or with reckless disregard as to truth or falsity.(2) "Agency" includes all state agencies and all local agencies…

Elections of conservation district supervisors held pursuant to chapter 89.08 RCW shall not be considered general or special elections for purposes of the campaign disclosure and personal financial affairs reporting requirements of this chapter. Elected conservation district supe…

All statements and reports filed under this chapter shall be public records of the agency where they are filed, and shall be available for public inspection and copying during normal business hours at the expense of the person requesting copies, provided that the charge for such …

(1) For each required report, as technology permits, the commission shall make an electronic reporting tool available to all those who are required to file that report under this chapter.(2) All persons required to file reports under this chapter must file them electronically whe…

It is the intent of the legislature to ensure that the commission provide the general public timely access to all contribution and expenditure reports submitted by candidates, continuing political committees, bona fide political parties, lobbyists, and lobbyists' employers. The l…

By July 1st of each year, the commission shall calculate the following performance measures, provide a copy of the performance measures to the governor and appropriate legislative committees, and make the performance measures available to the public:(1) The average number of days…

(1) The public disclosure commission is established. The commission shall be composed of five commissioners appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate. The commission shall have the authority and duties as set forth in this chapter. All appointees shall be persons …

The commission shall:(1) Develop and provide forms for the reports and statements required to be made under this chapter;(2) Prepare and publish a manual setting forth recommended uniform methods of bookkeeping and reporting for use by persons required to make reports and stateme…

In addition to the duties in RCW 42.17A.105, the commission may:(1) Adopt, 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, politic…

(1) The commission may suspend or modify any of the reporting requirements of this chapter if it finds that literal application of this chapter works a manifestly unreasonable hardship in a particular case and the suspension or modification will not frustrate the purposes of this…

At least once every five years, but no more often than every two years, the commission must consider whether to revise the monetary contribution limits and reporting thresholds and code values of this chapter. If the commission chooses to make revisions, the revisions shall be on…

The attorney general, through his or her office, shall provide assistance as required by the commission to carry out its responsibilities under this chapter. The commission may employ attorneys who are neither the attorney general nor an assistant attorney general to carry out an…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (7) of this section, the reporting provisions of this chapter do not apply to:(a) Candidates, elected officials, and agencies in political subdivisions with fewer than two thousand registered voters as of the date of the most re…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the date of receipt of any properly addressed application, report, statement, notice, or payment required to be made under the provisions of this chapter is the date shown by the post office cancellation mark on the envelo…

Every report and statement required to be filed under this chapter shall identify the person preparing it, and shall be certified as complete and correct, both by the person preparing it and by the person on whose behalf it is filed.[ 1973 c 1 s 43 (Initiative Measure No. 276, ap…

The commission must preserve statements or reports required to be filed under this chapter for not less than ten years.[ 2010 c 205 s 9; 1973 c 1 s 45 (Initiative Measure No. 276, approved November 7, 1972). Formerly RCW 42.17.450.]

(1) The commission may apply for and obtain a superior court order approving and authorizing a subpoena in advance of its issuance. The application may be made in Thurston county, the county where the subpoenaed person resides or is found, or the county where the subpoenaed docum…

The provisions of this chapter relating to the financing of election campaigns shall apply in all election campaigns other than (1) for precinct committee officer; (2) for a federal elective office; and (3) for an office of a political subdivision of the state that does not encom…

(1) Every political committee shall file a statement of organization with the commission. The statement must be filed within two weeks after organization or within two weeks after the date the committee first has the expectation of receiving contributions or making expenditures i…

(1)(a) An incidental committee must file a statement of organization with the commission within two weeks after the date the committee first:(i) Has the expectation of making any expenditures aggregating at least twenty-five thousand dollars in a calendar year in any election cam…

(1) Each candidate, within two weeks after becoming a candidate, and each political committee, at the time it is required to file a statement of organization, shall designate and file with the commission the name and address of one legally competent individual, who may be the can…

Each candidate and each political committee shall designate and file with the commission the name and address of not more than one depository for each county in which the campaign is conducted in which the candidate's or political committee's accounts are maintained and the name …

(1) All monetary contributions received by a candidate or political committee shall be deposited by candidates, political committee members, paid staff, or treasurers in a depository in an account established and designated for that purpose. Such deposits shall be made within fiv…

(1) In addition to the provisions of this section, a continuing political committee shall file and report on the same conditions and at the same times as any other committee in accordance with the provisions of RCW 42.17A.205, 42.17A.210, and 42.17A.220.(2) A continuing political…

(1) Fund-raising activities meeting the standards of subsection (2) of this section may be reported in accordance with the provisions of this section in lieu of reporting in accordance with RCW 42.17A.235.(2) Standards:(a) The activity consists of one or more of the following:(i)…

(1)(a) In addition to the information required under RCW 42.17A.205 and 42.17A.210, each candidate or political committee must file with the commission a report of all contributions received and expenditures made as a political committee on the next reporting date pursuant to the…

Each report required under RCW 42.17A.235 (1) through (4) must be certified as correct by the treasurer and the candidate and shall disclose the following, except an incidental committee only must disclose and certify as correct the information required under subsections (2)(d) a…

(1) An out-of-state political committee organized for the purpose of supporting or opposing candidates or ballot propositions in another state that is not otherwise required to report under RCW 42.17A.205 through 42.17A.240 shall report as required in this section when it makes a…

(1) For the purposes of this section the term "independent expenditure" means any expenditure that is made in support of or in opposition to any candidate or ballot proposition and is not otherwise required to be reported pursuant to RCW 42.17A.225, 42.17A.235, and 42.17A.240. "I…

(1) The sponsor of political advertising shall file a special report to the commission within twenty-four hours of, or on the first working day after, the date the political advertising is first published, mailed, or otherwise presented to the public, if the political advertising…

(1) Treasurers shall prepare and deliver to the commission a special report when a contribution or aggregate of contributions totals one thousand dollars or more, is from a single person or entity, and is received during a special reporting period.(2) A political committee shall …

A political committee receiving a contribution earmarked for the benefit of a candidate or another political committee shall:(1) Report the contribution as required in RCW 42.17A.235 and 42.17A.240;(2) Complete a report, entitled "Earmarked contributions," on a form prescribed by…

(1) The legislature finds that:(a) Timely disclosure to voters of the identity and sources of funding for electioneering communications is vitally important to the integrity of state, local, and judicial elections.(b) Electioneering communications that identify political candidat…

(1) A payment for or promise to pay for any electioneering communication shall be reported to the commission by the sponsor on forms the commission shall develop by rule to include, at a minimum, the following information:(a) Name and address of the sponsor;(b) Source of funds fo…

(1) An electioneering communication made by a person in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or their agents is a contribution to the candidate.(2) An electioneering communication made by …

(1) The sponsor of an electioneering communication shall preserve all financial records relating to the communication, including books of account, bills, receipts, contributor information, and ledgers, for not less than five calendar years following the year in which the communic…

(1) All written political advertising, whether relating to candidates or ballot propositions, shall include the sponsor's name and address. All radio and television political advertising, whether relating to candidates or ballot propositions, shall include the sponsor's name. The…

At least one picture of the candidate used in any political advertising shall have been taken within the last five years and shall be no smaller than any other picture of the same candidate used in the same advertisement.[ 2010 c 204 s 506; 1984 c 216 s 2. Formerly RCW 42.17.520.…

(1) It is a violation of this chapter for a person to sponsor with actual malice a statement constituting libel or defamation per se under the following circumstances:(a) Political advertising or an electioneering communication that contains a false statement of material fact abo…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the responsibility for compliance with RCW 42.17A.320 through 42.17A.335 shall be with the sponsor of the political advertising and not with the broadcasting station or other medium.(2) If a broadcasting station or other m…

(1) Each commercial advertiser who has accepted or provided political advertising or electioneering communications during the election campaign shall maintain current books of account and related materials as provided by rule that shall be open for public inspection during normal…

(1) For any requirement to include the top five contributors under RCW 42.17A.320 or any other provision of this chapter, the sponsor must identify the five persons or entities making the largest contributions to the sponsor in excess of the threshold aggregate value to be consid…

(1) The people of the state of Washington find and declare that:(a) The financial strength of certain individuals or organizations should not permit them to exercise a disproportionate or controlling influence on the election of candidates.(b) Rapidly increasing political campaig…

(1) The contribution limits in this section apply to:(a) Candidates for legislative office;(b) Candidates for state office other than legislative office;(c) Candidates for county office;(d) Candidates for port district office;(e) Candidates for city council office;(f) Candidates …

(1) No person may make contributions to a candidate for judicial office that in the aggregate exceed *one thousand six hundred dollars for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or appears as a write-in candidate. Contributions made with respect to a primary may no…

(1) Contributions to candidates for state office made and received before December 3, 1992, are considered to be contributions under *RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790. Monetary contributions that exceed the contribution limitations and that have not been spent by the recipient of …

(1) A foreign national may not make a contribution to any candidate or political committee, make an expenditure in support of or in opposition to any candidate or ballot measure, or sponsor political advertising or an electioneering communication.(2) A person may not make a contr…

(1) Each candidate or political committee that has accepted a contribution, and each out-of-state committee that has accepted a contribution reportable under RCW 42.17A.250, from a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons must receive a…

(1) It is a violation of this chapter for any person to make, or for any candidate or political committee to accept from any one person, contributions reportable under RCW 42.17A.240 in the aggregate exceeding fifty thousand dollars for any campaign for statewide office or exceed…

No expenditures may be made or incurred by any candidate or political committee unless authorized by the candidate or the person or persons named on the candidate's or committee's registration form. A record of all such expenditures shall be maintained by the treasurer.No expendi…