| Making Democracy Work® The methods of financing political campaigns should enable candidates to compete equitably for public office and protect from corruption and undue influence in government. Issue Team Chair: Cindy Madigan, cmadigan@lwvwa.org |
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Session Wrap Up We saw one bill requested by the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) to update grassroots reporting legislation HB 1317 delivered to the governor this session. Rule-making has begun and the PDC welcomes public comment. Another bill SB 5284 requested by the PDC to strengthen campaign finance disclosure laws was moving well until amendments were added by the House committee and Senate floor that were not reconciled before cut off. League positions support the Senate floor amendment prohibiting foreign-influenced corporations from making contributions and expenditures in state elections and look forward to more public process and perfection of this bill language next year. Seattle passed similar legislation in 2020 and Minnesota became the first state in the nation to pass this prohibition on 4/27/23. Free Speech for People Press Release We also supported the bill SB 5207 ensuring campaign limits are not exceeded when individuals contribute personally and through entities they control. These bills that did not pass will return with the same bill number for more action in the second half of the biennium beginning in January 2024. The bill HB 1755 to support public financing of statewide legislative races through expanding the successful democracy voucher program did not receive a public hearing during session, however we anticipate a work session during the interim this summer. Please reach out to Cindy Madigan, Money In Politics Issue Chair, cmadigan@lwvwa.org if you want to be notified of this work session and other developments during the interim. Thank you for reading and taking action - it really makes a difference!
League priority bills are in bold below.
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| House Bills | House | Senate | After Passage | |||||||||
| Bill # | Bill Name (Brief Title) | League Position | Take Action | In Committee | On Floor Calendar | Passed | In Committee | On Floor Calendar | Passed | Passed Legislature | On Governor's Desk | Signed |
| HB 1317 | Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure | Supports | x |
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These weekly updates will provide you with a "deep dive" into the progress of each bill, along with more analysis of the potential impact of the bill if it should pass.
- Weekly Report 1.15.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 1.22.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 1.29.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.5.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.12.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.19.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 2.26.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 3.5.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 3.12.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 3.19.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 3.26.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 4.2.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 4.9.23— Read Here
- Weekly Report 4.16.23— Read Here
- Session Wrap-Up 4.30.23— Read Here
Bills That Passed:
HB 1317 Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure - at request of Public Disclosure Commission. Improves transparency in grassroots lobbying disclosure.
Bills That Did Not Pass:
HB 1677 Campaign Finance Disclosure - at request of Public Disclosure Commission. Updates reporting deadlines, identification of digital advertising, use of the public disclosure transparency account for technology and reporting improvements. This was the initial PDC request bill that passed unanimously out of the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee but saw no further action during session.
HB 1330 Adjusts threshold for candidate contribution certifications related to foreign nationals – This threshold would reduce the requirement to provide a document with every contribution that certifies the entity is not financed or controlled by foreign nationals. This provision was amended into SB 5284 by the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee and the Senate refused to concur.
HB 1755 Establishing the democracy voucher program for contributions to state legislative candidates - This will create a public financing system for legislative elections using a statewide Democracy Voucher Program, similar to the Seattle Democracy Voucher Program. It will provide four $25 vouchers to constituents in each LD to give to participating candidates of their choice. This will strengthen the voice of everyday people in state government by promoting broad, diverse, fair, and undistorted citizen influence and participation in electoral politics. We look forward to a work session this summer.
SB 5207 Concerning campaign contributions by controlled entities – Adds requirements to ensure campaign contribution limits are not exceeded when an individual controls another entity. This bill was not heard on the floor before cutoff and has been returned to Senate Rules Committee for third reading.
SB 5284 Campaign Finance Disclosure - at request of Public Disclosure Commission. Updates reporting deadlines, identification of digital advertising, use of the public disclosure transparency account for technology and reporting improvements. This was amended on the Senate Floor to prohibit foreign-influenced corporations from making contributions and expenditures in state elections and the House refused to concur. Bill was returned to Senate Rules 3.How To Be Involved
- Local Leagues in Washington have action chairs who coordinate action teams. Some local Leagues have democracy teams to take action locally. Contact your local League action chair to find out and join.
- Volunteer to help with research. Do you like numbers and data-mining? Join us as we use the excellent tools provided by the https://www.pdc.wa.gov/political-disclosure-reporting-data to dig deep into the data.
- You may also express your opinion on legislation with the LWVWA issue chairs. We will take your perspectives under considerations as we determine our support for legislation and prepare testimony. Contact: Cindy Madigan, Money in Politics Issue Chair, cmadigan@lwvwa.org.