Original Notice.

Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 01-16-127.

Title of Rule: Title 390 WAC, rules to implement contributions after the primary election and change in contribution limitations.

Purpose: To implement HB 1770 and RCW 42.17.690.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 42.17.370(1).

Statute Being Implemented: RCW 42.17.690 and HB 1770.

Summary: The proposed new rule clarifies the measure allowing contributions to be made to primary election losers for thirty days after the primary to pay off debts incurred during the primary election. The proposed rule amendment revises the dollar amounts established by Initiative 134 to make inflationary adjustments.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: The proposed rules provide guidance to candidates who lose in the primary election and nominally increases contribution limits for the 2002 election.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting and Implementation: Doug Ellis, Public Disclosure Commission, 711 Capitol Way, Room 206, Olympia, (360) 664-2735; and Enforcement: Phil Stutzman, Public Disclosure Commission, 711 Capitol Way, Room 206, Olympia, (360) 664-8853.

Name of Proponent: Public Disclosure Commission, governmental.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The proposed new rule would permanently adopt PDC Interpretation 01-02, which clarifies HB 1770 allowing contributions to be made to primary election losers for thirty days after the primary to pay off debts incurred during the primary election.

RCW 42.17.690 requires the commission to revise the dollar amounts established by Initiative 134 at the beginning of each even-numbered year. The proposed rule amendment would make inflationary adjustments.

Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: The proposed rule change would make inflationary adjustments to Initiative 134 contribution limits.

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The implementation of these rules does not impact small businesses.

RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. The Public Disclosure Commission is not an agency listed in subsection (5)(a)(i) of section 201. Further, the Public Disclosure Commission does not voluntarily make section 201 applicable to this rule adoption pursuant to subsection (5)(a)(ii) of section 201, and to date the Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee has not made section 201 applicable to this rule adoption.

Hearing Location: Commission Hearing Room, Evergreen Plaza Building, 711 Capitol Way, Room 206, Olympia, WA, on October 23, 2001, at 9:00 a.m.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Ruthann Bryant by phone (360) 753-1111.

Submit Written Comments to: Doug Ellis, Public Disclosure Commission, P.O. Box 40908, Olympia, WA 98504-0908, fax (360) 753-1112, dellis@pdc.wa.gov, by October 19, 2001.

Date of Intended Adoption: October 23, 2001.

September 10, 2001

Vicki Rippie

Executive Director

OTS-5153.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-04-058, filed 1/28/00, effective 3/1/00)

WAC 390-05-400   Changes in dollar amounts.   Pursuant to the requirement in RCW 42.17.690 that the commission biennially revise the dollar amounts found in Initiative 134 to reflect changes in economic conditions, the following revisions are made:

Code Section	Subject Matter	Amount Enacted or Last Revised		((2000)) 2001 Revision
.020	Definition of "Independent
	Expenditure"	(($575)) $600		(($600)) $625
.125	Reimbursement of candidate for loan to
	own campaign	$3,500		$3,800
.180(1)	Report --
	Applicability of provisions to
	Persons who made contributions	(($11,500)) $12,000		(($12,000)) $12,500
	Persons who made independent
	expenditures	(($575)) $600		(($600)) $625
.640(1)	Contribution Limits--
	Candidates for state leg. office	(($575)) $600		(($600)) $625
	Candidates for other state office	(($1,150)) $1,200		(($1,200)) $1,250
.640(2)	Contribution Limits--
	State official up for recall or pol comm.
	supporting recall--
	State Legislative Office	(($575)) $600		(($600)) $625
	Other State Office	(($1,150)) $1,200		(($1,200)) $1,250
.640(3)	Contribution Limits--
	Contributions made by political parties
	and caucus committees
	State parties and caucus committees	((.58)) .60 per voter		((.60)) .64 per voter
	County and leg. district parties	((.29)) .30 per voter		((.30)) .32 per voter
	Limit for all county and leg. district
	parties to a candidate	((.29)) .30 per voter		((.30)) .32 per voter
.640(4)	Contribution Limits--
	Contributions made by pol. parties and caucus
	committees to state official up for recall or
	committee supporting recall
	State parties and caucuses	((.58)) .60 per voter		((.60)) .64 per voter
	County and leg. district parties	((.29)) .30 per voter		((.30)) .32 per voter
	Limit for all county and leg. district parties
	to state official up for recall or pol. comm.
	supporting recall	((.29)) .30 per voter		((.30)) .32 per voter
.640 (6)	Limits on contributions to political parties
	and caucus committees
	To caucus committee	(($575)) $600		(($600)) $625
	To political party	(($2,875)) $3,000		(($3,000)) $3,200
.740	Contribution must be made by
	written instrument	$55		$60

[Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.370(1). 00-04-058, 390-05-400, filed 1/28/00, effective 3/1/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.690. 98-08-069, 390-05-400, filed 3/30/98, effective 5/1/98; 96-04-021, 390-05-400, filed 1/30/96, effective 3/1/96.]

OTS-5149.1

NEW SECTION
WAC 390-17-302   Contributions after the primary election.   (1) Pursuant to RCW 42.17.640(1), the date of the primary is the last day for making primary-related contributions unless a state office candidate loses in the primary, that candidate's authorized committee has insufficient funds to pay debts outstanding as of the date of the primary, and the contributions are used to satisfy this outstanding debt.

(2) For purposes of the contribution limit in RCW 42.17.640, any contribution made up to thirty days after the primary election pursuant to RCW 42.17.640(1) is aggregated with contributions made on or before the date of the primary from the same contributor and any person with whom that contributor shares a limit under RCW 42.17.660 and WAC 390-16-309 and 390-16-311.

(3) The day following the primary election is considered the first day of the thirty-day period during which contributions may be made to state office candidates who lose in the primary election and who have outstanding primary debts.

(4) For purposes of RCW 42.17.640(1), "outstanding primary debts," "outstanding debts" and "debts outstanding" all mean:

(a) Unpaid primary-election related debts incurred on or before the date of the primary by the authorized committee of a candidate who lost the primary election for a state office; and

(b) Reasonable costs associated with activities of the losing candidate's authorized committee necessary to retire the primary-related debts it incurred on or before the date of the primary. Examples of such reasonable costs include:

(i) Necessary administrative expenses (office space rental, staff wages, taxes, supplies, telephone and computer costs, postage, and the like) for activities actually and directly related to retiring the committee's debt; and

(ii) Necessary expenses actually and directly related to the fund-raising activities undertaken to retire the debt, as long as all persons solicited for contributions are notified that the contributions are subject to that contributor's primary election limit for that losing candidate.

(5) Nothing in this section is to be construed as authorizing contributors to make, or state office candidates who lose the primary to receive, contributions that are used for a purpose not specifically authorized by RCW 42.17.640(1), including use for some future election or as surplus funds.

(6) All contributions received in excess of the sum needed to satisfy outstanding primary debts shall be returned to the original contributors in an amount not to exceed the amount contributed in accordance with the first in, first out accounting principle wherein the most recent contribution received is the first to be returned until all excess funds are returned to contributors.

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Washington State Code Reviser's Office