Comment on potential PDC legislative priorities

The Public Disclosure Commission has identified the following list of possible priorities for its 2023 legislative agenda. The Commission is seeking input on these issues to assist in the final preparation of any potential agency request legislation.

There will be the opportunity for public comment and discussion at the next PDC meeting on Thursday, August 25, 2022.

If you would like to participate in the meeting, please contact debbie.cafazzo@pdc.wa.gov for instructions on how to join the meeting with the Teams app. Discussion and comment on the possible legislative priorities is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Written comments can be submitted to pdc@pdc.wa.gov. Comments should be sent by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 for consideration at the meeting.

Here is the list of possible priorities:

Enhancing grassroots lobbying disclosures to provide transparency through reporting and sponsor identification during the legislative session. RCW 42.17A.640

The grassroots lobbying disclosure law has not been substantively updated since the original initiative was enacted in 1972, and there are several limitations to full transparency that are under consideration for improvement, much of which originally was presented under HB 1586 (2021).

The Commission is proposing several improvements to the law, including:

• Requiring the submission of an initial grassroots lobbying report at the time the campaign begins and timely disclosure during the critical period of the legislative session when the influence is being sought.
• Requiring sponsor identification for grassroots campaign advertising (similar to political advertising) to allow the public to see who is soliciting for the public’s support.
• Finally, directing grassroots campaigns to report on a single report (rather than allowing it to be reported on a lobbyist’s report) to make it easier for the public to locate and track campaign spending.

Making the Transparency Account a non-appropriated fund. RCW 42.17A.785

The Legislature created the Transparency Account in 2018 to receive penalties assessed for violations of campaign finance and lobbyist disclosure laws. The Account provides a revenue source for agency projects that improve transparency and efficiency, particularly the development of electronic and web-based reporting systems aimed at preventing filing errors and improving publicly available data. However, such projects require multi-year planning and commitment of resources outside of the state budget cycle.

The Commission seeks to ensure the Transparency Account will be a permanent, stable, and independent funding source that will allow the flexibility for effective long-term agency strategic planning in promoting the goals of Fair Campaign Practices Act. The Commission would use the account funds for development and implementation of specifically designated projects that will improve the usability, transparency, and accessibility of PDC information.