Commission meeting highlights: February 2026

Commission agrees to meet in March, despite potential lack of quorum

With two of its five positions currently vacant, and a third – Chair J Leach – out of the country for the month of March, the Public Disclosure Commission is finding itself temporarily without a quorum unless the Governor’s Office acts quickly to appoint new members.  

The Commission agreed Feb. 12 to hold its March 26 meeting as an informational-only session, since only two members will be in attendance. The Commission must have at least three members present to take an action or vote, but can meet publicly to hear reports from staff and to take public comment.  

The Commission has been short of its full five-member complement for much of the past three years. All seats were briefly filled at the end of 2024, however, then-chair Allen Hayward resigned in January 2025. Commissioner Nancy Isserlis’ term ended at the end of 2024, but she remained on the Commission, as is allowable by law, for much of 2025 while a replacement hadn’t been appointed.  

Members of the Public Disclosure Commission are appointed by the Governor’s Office. Executive Director Peter Frey Lavallee reported on Feb. 12 that he was in contact with staff from the Governor’s Office in an effort to express the importance of speedy appointments to the Commission.  

Permanent rules on ballot measure inclusion in slate cards to take effect in March

The Commission unanimously approved a proposal to make permanent a set of previously temporary rules allowing party committees to include their position on ballot measures on slate cards.  

Bona fide state party committees are allowed to accept unlimited contributions from any donor as long as such funds are segregated from other contributions in special exempt accounts. These funds must only be used to promote voter registration or get-out-the-vote campaigns, or for other uses, such as sample ballots, that do not support any individual candidate through advertising, monetary contributions or signs.    

Sample ballots (including slate cards) funded through exempt accounts can show the party’s preferred candidates as a group, as long as they don’t include advocacy statements or promote individual candidates, or include candidates’ positions on issues or platforms. Because they are exempt from contribution limits, sample ballots do not need to be reported or attributed as contributions to any individual campaign.        

In 2025, the Washington State Democratic Party asked the PDC to also allow party committees to include their positions on ballot measures, while still allowing those expenses to come from exempt accounts. The state Republican Party expressed its support as well.  

The Commission used an emergency rulemaking process to put this new rule in place in time for the 2025 election, and began drafting permanent rules that year.  

The rule allows parties to indicate support or opposition to any local or state ballot proposition, so long as the number of ballot propositions appearing on the sample ballot does not outnumber the number of candidates on the sample ballot.  

The Commission approved the permanent rules after a public hearing on Feb. 12. The rules will be in effect 31 days after their official filing. The Commission voted to extend the temporary rules through that date.  

PDC staff continue to watch progress of 2026 legislation

PDC Deputy Director Kim Bradford and General Counsel Sean Flynn briefed the Commission on the progress of several bills in the state Legislature that could impact the agency.

Senate Bill 5840, requested by the PDC, proposes that all candidates and PACs would file expenditure reports (C-4) by the 10th of each month, reporting on the previous month’s activity, regardless of the amount of that activity. From July to October, campaigns participating in the election that year, would be required to file an additional C-4 on the 25th of each month.  

The bill passed the Senate 46-3 and will now go to the state House. Read more about the bill here. The PDC has requested the change be effective in 2028, if passed into law.

While an earlier version of House Bill 2333 sought to redact primary residential addresses of all elected officials from certain public records in Washington, including PDC records, a new version is quite different.  

Instead, the bill includes increased access to active and surplus campaign funds for personal security measures for elected officials and candidates.  

The Commission has previously held that current disclosure law allows for some use of active and surplus campaign funds for personal security, if a demonstrable threat exists.  

Bradford noted that the bill’s language could change again, and said PDC staff are working with legislators to continue to address concerns about disclosure of addresses. The PDC currently has a mechanism to redact addresses in the event of security threats, and that could be expanded with legislative action, she said.  

Another bill, HB-2637, would amend the state’s Public Records Act to create exemption for residential address in agency records. However, the PDC operates under a different RCW, and would likely not be affected, Bradford reported.  

House Bill 2123 also passed its house of origin – it now goes to the state Senate for consideration.  

Current law requires contributing entities, but not individuals, to certify that any contributions they make do not include any foreign national involvement.  

The bill originally sought to remove that requirement, but after revisions now would require certification over a contribution threshold. The PDC has not taken a formal position on the bill.  

Enforcement report

Between Jan. 15 and Feb. 4, the PDC received 65 new complaints, and as of Feb. 4, had 219 cases open.  

Of those active cases, 104 were under initial review and 112 were under formal investigation. One was scheduled for a full hearing, another was scheduled for a brief enforcement hearing, and a third is pending deferred enforcement.  

Staff also conducted seven initial hearings and closed 38 cases during that timeframe. Closed cases included one closed with no evidence of a violation, five reminders, 22 warnings, four statements of understanding, four technical corrections, one case resolved under local law and one remediable complaint.  

Those cases included 26 local candidates, three legislative candidates, one public agency, seven committees and one sponsor of an independent expenditure.  

In case number 180058 PDC staff investigated a complaint that a city included a flyer for a local school bond along with public utility bills sent to residents. The mayor signed a statement of understanding admitting to the violation of RCW 29B.45.010, which prohibits use of public funds to support or oppose a political campaign, and agreed to a $150 penalty.