Public Disclosure Commission

711 Capital Way, Room 206 | Olympia, Washington 98504

Note: All times shown for consideration of agenda items (other than time of convening) are approximate and may vary, depending on the amount of discussion required for each.

9:30 AM - I. Citizen Comments/Concerns | Commissioner Comments/Concerns | Minutes

Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes of February 26, 2015

Presenter - Chair Degginger

9:35 AM - IV. Rulemaking
10:00 AM V. Informational Matter

Penalty Collection Policy Update

Presenter - Tony Perkins

10:10 AM - VI. Alternative Responses to Non-Compliance Complaint Resolution Models and Options
10:40 AM - VII. Legislative/Budget Report

Presenter - Andrea McNamara Doyle

10:50 AM - Break
11:00 AM - VIII. Reporting Modifications - Renewal No Change

Grant DegginerMember, Public Disclosure Commission

Lorrell D’Oliveira-Noahr – Professional Staff, Wa. St. Legislature

Lewis Edelheit – Trustee, Life Sciences Discovery Fund

Julia L. Garratt – Superior Court Judge, King County

Lora Petso – Commissioner, Olympic View Water Dist. & Council Member, City of Edmonds

Steven Rosen – Municipal Court Judge, City of Seattle

Barre Seibert – City Council Member, City of Clyde Hill

11:15 AM - 1X. Enforcement

Reports to Commission

Yes on I-522 Committee, PDC Tracking No. T14-053 involving alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.235 and .240 by accepting unreported in-kind contributions from Knoll Lowney; Smith & Lowney, PLLC; or Moms for Labeling.

Moms for Labeling, PDC Tracking No. T14-053 involving an alleged violation of RCW 42.17A.205 by failing to include the name of its sole sponsor, Dr.Bronner’s Magic Soaps, in its committee name, as required by WAC 390-16-011A.

Greg Kimsey, PDC Tracking No. T15-106 involving alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.555 by using or authorizing the use of facilities of the Clark County Auditor’s Office to promote Proposition 1, The Home Rule Charter, a 2014 general election ballot proposition; and RCW 42.17A.565 by soliciting contributions from employees of the Clark County Auditor’s Office to support Proposition 1.

11:45 AM - X. Staff Reports
  • Executive Director
  • Chief Information Technology Officer
  • Assistant Director; Communications and Outreach
  • Compliance and Enforcement

Presenters - Andrea McNamara Doyle; James Gutholm; Tony Perkins

12:00 PM - Lunch
1:00 PM - XI. Enforcement (Continued)

Todd Mielke, Case No. 13-099 involving alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.555 by using/authorizing the use of Spokane County facilities to assist his preparation for a June 7, 2012 candidate debate sponsored by the Newman Lake Property Owners Association (NLPOA).

3:00 PM - Adjourn

The Commission may deliberate in closed session on any enforcement matter on this agenda, or any matters listed in RCW 42.30.140.

Meeting Summary

March 26, 2015, Volume 15 Issue No 3

Grant Degginger, Chair

Katrina Asay, Vice Chair

Amit Ranade, Member

John Bridges, Member

Anne Levinson, Member

Enforcement 

Following an enforcement hearing, the Commission found that Spokane County Commissioner Todd Mielke used county resources to assist his 2012 re-election campaign, a violation of state law.  The Commission assessed a $500 penalty, suspending $400 with terms.

Staff briefed the Commission on the results of staff investigations of three citizen actions conducted at the request of the Attorney General.  The Commission voted to recommend to the Attorney General that he take no further action concerning allegations that:

  • Yes on I-522 Committee failed to report in-kind contributions for legal services provided by the Smith & Lowney law firm;
  • Moms for Labeling failed to timely register as a political committee or failed to register Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps as a committee sponsor; and
  • Greg Kimsey used Clark County resources to promote passage of Proposition 1 in 2014 or solicited contributions from employees of his agency in support of Proposition 1.

Rule Making

The Commission approved proposed draft rule language to:

  • amend WAC 390-18-050 Commercial advertisers – public inspection of records to insert references to electioneering communications, and
  • amend WACs 390-37-020 and 390-37-040 to (1) require that all complaints, regardless of the subject, filed with the Commission be signed by the complainant under oath, and (2) clarify what information should be included with the complaint.

Reporting Modifications 

Personal Financial Statement (F-1) reporting modifications were renewed for:

  • Grant Degginger, Public Disclosure Commission member,
  • Lorrell D’Oliveira-Noale, Professional Staff (Legislature),
  • Lewis Edelheit, Life Sciences Discovery Fund trustee,
  • Julie L. Garratt, King County Superior Court judge,
  • Lora Petso, City of Edmonds council member,
  • Steven Rosen, City of Seattle Municipal Court Judge, and
  • Barre Seibert, City of Clyde Hill council member.

The Commission meeting materials can be found at www.pdc.wa.gov under Commission Meetings. For additional information concerning these issues contact Lori Anderson, Communications & Training Officer, at (360) 664-2737, toll free 1-877-601-2828 or e-mail at landerson@pdc.wa.gov.

The next regular meeting of the Public Disclosure Commission is tentatively scheduled for April 23, 2015.