The Public Disclosure Commission Thursday voted unanimously to fine former Bothell Mayor Joshua Freed $50,000 with half the penalty suspended for campaign violations related to personal loans to his unsuccessful 2020 campaign for governor.

Freed acknowledged in a stipulation negotiated… read more

Don't get caught having to re-enter all your ORCA data if your computer hard drive crashes or you lose your laptop. ORCA data that you enter is only stored on your machine. The PDC retains only the completed reports you file with ORCA, not the data you entered to create those reports. If you… read more

A new PDC tool helps the public visualize candidate campaign reports by mapping the sources of their campaign cash and showing how their financial support has changed over time.

You'll find the "Show me the money" application via a link on each candidate's campaign overview page. (The… read more

 

A political committee that wants to contribute to a candidate running for the Legislature or one of the state executive positions (governor, attorney general, state auditor, etc.) must be able to show that it has received contributions of $25 or more from at least 10 different… read more

Emerging issues around digital political ads

Commissioners heard an update about the work Vice Chair Fred Jarrett and Commissioner Russ Lehman are leading to research problems and potential solutions for the complex issues created by the rise of digital political advertising. PDC staff members… read more

The PDC, in recognition of the extenuating circumstances created by COVID-19, in March added an option for elected and appointed officials to file a partial Financial Affairs Disclosure (F-1) with the information available to them.

We strongly encourage filers who used this option to… read more

The five-member Public Disclosure Commission voted unanimously Thursday to refer two 2019 complaints against Google to the state attorney general's office.

The complaints (PDC case documents here and here) allege that Google violated state campaign finance laws that require commercial… read more

 

This updates information that was posted July 20, 2020.

Public agencies should track video meetings for inclusion on their quarterly reports.

State law requires agencies to report in-person contacts with legislators or their staff members by public agency lobbyists… read more

Commission fines former Olympia city manager

In a 4-1 vote, the Commission levied a $10,000 fine with half suspended against former Olympia City Manager Steve Hall. The fine was the result of a 2019 mailer the city created and sent urging voters to reject Initiative 976, following a City Council… read more

The Public Disclosure Commission today fined Olympia's former city manager $10,000, with half suspended, for a 2019 campaign mailer that urged voters to reject Initiative 976.

The decision to fine former City Manager Steve Hall came on a vote of 4-1, with Commissioner Russell Lehman… read more