Political committees that buy political advertising will have to provide more disclosure beginning July 28.
House Bill 1379, passed by the 2019 Legislature, expands sponsor disclosure requirements to include more information about the sources of money for ads.
Political committees currently must identify their Top 5 contributors when running political advertising for a ballot measure with a cost of at least $1,000 in the aggregate, or when making an independent expenditure for or against a candidate.
Come July 28, there will have to be additional sponsor identification if the Top 5 list includes political committees. In those cases, the sponsor must determine the Top 3 donors to the political committees listed among the initial top 5.
The Top 3 donors to PAC contributors must be three individuals or entities other than political committees. If the Top 3 list includes a political committee, the sponsor must continue "drilling down" to determine other top contributing individuals or entities.
PAC #1 sponsors an independent expenditure mailer supporting a candidate. Its Top 5 contributors are John Doe, PAC #2, PAC #3, Jane Smith and PAC #4. All of these names are included in the Top 5 contributor list.
The PAC sponsoring the ad then must decide who to include in the expanded sponsor ID through the following process:
The full sponsor identification message would say: "No candidate authorized this ad. It is paid for by PAC #1, 123 Market St., Olympia, WA. Top 5 Contributors: John Doe, PAC #2, PAC #3, Jane Smith, PAC #4. Top 3 Donors to PAC Contributors: Bob Johnson, Acme Plumbing, XYZ Corporation."
PDC staff recommends that any donor that gave $1,000 during 12-month period preceding the date on which the advertisement is published or presented to the public be considered for the Top 3. If more than three contributors to a "Top 5" political committee tie for the top donation, the sponsor may select which three of those contributors to identify.
Other sponsor identification rules still apply (click on the link for more info):
The Commission is writing rules to assist compliance with the new law. The rules will become effective after the general election, as required by state law. Anyone with suggestions or comments about the rule-making process can email pdc@pdc.wa.gov.