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The PDC publishes a report each year summarizing our work and the data reported to us for the last election cycle.
“To raise the awareness of the PDC, we joined King County Elections’ successful Informed Voter campaign. The campaign promoted the PDC’s website through TV, radio, and online public service announcements. The partnership allowed the PDC, King County, and other counties to each invest a small amount of money and leverage their pooled buying power to realize low advertising rates. Travel expert Rick Steves and other local celebrities volunteered their talents for the PSAs.”
“The PDC’s next step is to make the website even more useful for the public by developing a complete replacement for the data access system. The scope of the project includes both a new interface for casual browsing, deep data access and an Open Data interface for large data requests.”
“After having nearly eliminated the investigation backlog through our process improvements and the alternative resolution approaches we adopted in 2016, this year we saw a steep increase in cases. In 2008, the PDC opened approximately 100 cases. In 2017, we opened nearly 800.”
“Initiative 1631, a proposed carbon fee on fossil-fuel emissions, spurred a costly campaign that broke state records for statewide initiative spending. No on 1631 (Sponsored by Western States Petroleum Association) spent $31 million to oppose the ballot proposition, topping the previous record of $24.3 million set in 2013 by opponents of Initiative 522’s effort to mandate labeling of genetically modified food. Expenditures by I-1631 supporters totaled another $16 million, making the carbon fee measure the most expensive in state history at $47 million.
“In June 2019, the PDC began a staged approach to implementing electronic reporting for lobbyists, candidates and other filers. The agency expects that by 2020, thousands of reports previously filed on paper will be submitted electronically.”
“The Public Disclosure Commission made digital political advertising a major focus in 2020 in recognition of the medium’s growing influence and the public’s interest in transparency. To kick off its work, the Commission invited … experts from around the country to Olympia in January to discuss how digital ads can influence elections and how government regulation can help the public understand who’s behind them.”
"During Fiscal Year 2021, we took the first steps toward making our Online Reporting of Campaign Activity (ORCA) software a full online experience...(and) streamlined processes for resolving cases allowed us to eliminate a backlog...that began in 2016...(also) the next chapter of the PDC story will include a close inspection of how technology is shaping campaigns."
“Washington voters got it right 50 years ago, when they approved the law that opened the window on how money influences politics in our state... We know there is more to do to ensure the health of our political system, which faces challenges that weren’t anticipated in 1972."
“The Public Disclosure Commission‘s road trip to Spokane for its June 2023 meeting was a high point of the year. ... Increased outreach to voters and those regulated by the PDC throughout the state was one of the five strategic plan projects the Commission identified in the fall of 2022. In the next year, expect to see more."
“I took over as chair in 2024 during one of the Public Disclosure Commission’s busiest periods ever, as complaint volumes jumped exponentially from previous years, and staff scrambled to handle the workload. But we didn’t just scramble. Staff also continued to do excellent work assisting campaigns and other filers during a busy election cycle, triaging heavy caseloads, and developing and improving online filing systems. I’m proud of our recent work, and I’m even more excited for the PDC’s future."