These dates are also found on the PDC's Calendar of Events. (Printer-friendly version)

UPDATE: Key reporting dates now available for 2019 special elections. 

See related PDC Interpretation 07-02, Primary Purpose Test

Definition

A political committee is any person, group, club, organization or collection of individuals (except a candidate or individual dealing with his or her own funds) expecting to receive contributions or make expenditures in support of or in opposition to any candidate or ballot proposition, including annexation and incorporation ballot issues.  Although a group may be a civic, social or professional organization primarily, it also may be a political committee if it accepts contributions specifically for use in election campaigns.  RCW 42.17A.005(37)

In addition, any group expecting to receive and/or spend funds to assist its efforts to have an annexation or incorporation issue placed on the ballot is a political committee and must register and report from the date of such expectation.   Deciding to hire a lawyer to assist with getting an annexation or incorporation issue on the ballot would trigger committee status for a new committee and any legal costs associated with placing the matter on the ballot would be reportable campaign expenditures.

Political committees typically spend money to:

• support or oppose candidates;
• support or oppose any levy, referendum, initiative, recall, annexation, incorporation or other ballot proposition; and/or
• make contributions to candidates or other committees.

Types of Committees

An in-state political committee will register as a:

• Bona Fide Political Party Committee – official state, county central, or legislative district committee of a major or minor political party;[1]
• Ballot Measure Committee – organized to support or oppose a particular ballot measure (the ballot number or description of the measure must be included on the committee’s registration), or
• Other Committee – any committee that does not qualify as a bona fide political party committee or a ballot committee.  Includes continuing committees organized for more than one election season, such as business or labor committees and on-going political action committees.  Also includes single year committees, such as slate committees that organize to support particular groups of candidates.

"Single Year" and "Continuing" Designations

A single year political committee is organized to support or oppose a particular ballot measure or a slate of candidates.  The committee registers for a particular election year and disbands after the election.  A continuing committee plans to continue from year to year.

Definition

Any person to whom any of the following applies:

• the committee receives 80% of more of its contributions from the person or from the person's members, officers, employees, or shareholders, or
• the person collects contributions for the committee by use of payroll deductions or dues from its members, officers, or employees.

RCW 42.17A.005(42)(b).  "Person" includes an individual, partnership, joint venture, public or private corporation, association, federal, state, or local governmental entity or agency however constituted, candidate, committee, political committee, political party, executive committee thereof, or any other organization or group of persons, however organized.

It is possible that a political committee will have one sponsor, multiple sponsors, or no sponsor.  It is also possible that a contributor who is a sponsor under the 80% threshold described will not be a sponsor for the entire campaign.

Sponsor Restrictions

A person may sponsor only one political committee for the same elected office or same ballot measure per election cycle.  In other words, two committees who have the same sponsor may not contribute to the same candidate or ballot measure committee.  Once one of the committees contributes to a particular candidate, the other committee may not make independent expenditures or electioneering communications benefitting the candidate or who received contributions from the sponsor’s other committee. The same restriction would apply if one of the committees had contributed to a ballot measure committee – another committee with the same sponsor would not be able to make independent expenditures benefitting the ballot measure.

A political committee selects its own name under the following conditions:

• A sponsored committee must include its sponsor’s name in the committee’s name.  A committee with multiple sponsors may include all – but must include at least one – sponsor’s name in the committee’s name.  The PDC does not dictate how the sponsor’s name will be incorporated into the committee’s name.
• A political committee shall include a known sponsor in its name when registering.  The committee must amend its registration 60 days before an election in which it participates if the sponsor has changed.  See the following section – Registering as a Political Committee – for more information.
• No two active committees may have the same name.  PDC staff will notify any committee that registers under a name already in use and instruct the committee to choose a different name.

Opening the Account

The committee's bank account may be established in a bank, mutual savings bank, savings and loan association or credit union doing business in Washington State.  The committee must identify, on the C-1pc, where the account will be, but the account does not have to be opened until the committee receives contributions to deposit.

When opening the account, the committee will be asked to supply a federal tax identification number.  The Internal Revenue Service issues tax ID numbers; applications are accepted online, by fax, or by mail. 

According to information found at www.irs.gov, effective January 11, 2016, tax ID numbers are issued immediately to those who apply online.

Apply online at http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-(EIN)-Online.

Fax a completed IRS SS-4 form to (859) 669-5760 (Call 1-800-829-3676 to request a blank form).

Mail the completed SS-41 form to IRS, Attn:  EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH  45999.

The bank will report any interest earned on the campaign account to the IRS using the tax number you provide.  Consult the IRS, your accountant or tax advisor regarding any tax liability or requirement to file a tax return.  The PDC may not give tax-related advice or information.

Deposits

Deposit monetary contributions within five business days of receipt.  Practically speaking, this means that each committee can make a weekly deposit and be in compliance with the law.  A high volume of contributions may make more frequent deposits advisable.

Each deposit is reported in a separate Cash Receipts Monetary Contributions Report (C-3).  Through the end of May, C-3 reports are due on the 10th of the month following the month the depsoits were made.  Beginning in June, C-3 reports are due on Monday after the deposits are made.  When no deposits were made in the month or, starting in June, the week, then no reports are filed on the reporting deadline.  Once a deposit is made, the C-3 may be filed at any time before the deadline.

Treasurers will have to pay a lot of attention to keeping accurate and up-to-date contribution records.   The PDC recommends that campaigns use its free ORCA software that allows easier handling of large volumes of data and automatic calculation of cumulative totals for contributors. 

Determining "Date Received"

"Receipt" of a campaign contribution occurs at the earliest of the following:

• the date that the committee treasurer, deputy treasurer, campaign manager, campaign chairperson or similarly situated campaign official obtains possession of the contribution, or
• the date that the committee treasurer, deputy treasurer, campaign manager, campaign chairperson or similarly situated campaign official is informed of the contribution, or becomes aware that the campaign, or in the case of an earmarked contribution, the intermediary or conduit, has possession of the contribution, or
• the date that the contribution becomes available for use by the committee.

An exception is online and credit card contributions, which should be considered received on the date the transfer is initiated from the merchant account to the campaign account.

Bank Deposits

Deposit monetary contributions within five business days of when they are received.  Committees who select the full reporting option will report each deposit to the PDC.

Required Contributor Information

The contributor's name and address, along with the amount given, and the date the candidate received the contribution must be collected for each contribution received.  Treasurers will also need to obtain occupation and employer information regarding individuals who give more than $100 in the aggregate contributions.  

Sources of Contributions

Candidates and treasurers who file disclosure reports listing their sources of contributions must often make decisions about whom to show as the contributor.  Contributors have the obligation to inform campaigns of the true and actual source of the donation at the time the contribution is made.  However, in the absence of other information concerning a contribution's true source, follow the interpretations given below when keeping records, identifying your contributors on the C-3 report and when complying with the contribution limits.

One-Party Personal Checks:

List the name printed on the top of the check as the contributor.

Joint Personal Account Checks:

Attribute equal parts of the contribution to each of the names of the parties printed on the check, unless a written explanation to the contrary accompanies the contribution.  (In the case of $100 check drawn on the account of John and Mary Smith, attribute $50 to John and $50 to Mary.  John and Mary each may contribute up to the maximum allowed by an individual.)

Checks Drawn on Sole-Proprietor Business Accounts:

For contribution purposes, the owner of the business and the business entity are considered one and the same.  The proprietor's aggregate contribution total must include donations from his/her personal funds as well as from the business.

Partnership Account Checks:

List the partnership as the contributor, unless the contribution is to be paid from one or more of the partners' capital accounts, in which case the contribution is attributed to the partner or partners whose funds are being used.  Written notice of this arrangement is to accompany the check.

Other Entities:

Show the contribution as coming from the name printed on the check when reporting contributions from corporations, unions, membership organizations, associations, political committees and other organizaitons

Contributions from Minors:

Contributions by unemancipated children, under eighteen years of age, are considered contributions by their parents and are attributed proportionately to each parent.  In the case of a single custodial parent, the total amount of the contribution is attributed to the parent; otherwise, 50% of the contribution is attributed to each parent.

Contributions from emancipated children, under eighteen years of age, are considered contributions from the child if the decision to contribute is made knowingly and voluntarily by the child, the contribution is from a source owned and controlled exclusively by the child, and the contribution does not result from a gift intended to give the child the wherewithal to contribute.

Contributions of Uncertain Origin:

Do not deposit any contribution, or accept any in-kind contribution, if you know or suspect it has been made in a fictitious name, or by one person through an agent, relative, political committee, or any other person so as to conceal the true source or to exceed the contribution limits.  Return such a contribution within ten calendar days to the source, if known, or endorse the check and make it payable to the State Treasurer.  Send the endorsed check to the PDC, along with an explanation, for deposit in the state's general fund.

Aggregating Contributions

Include both monetary and in-kind contributions when aggregating a donor's contributions.

The PDC provides electronic filing options for all reports that a committee must file. Committees are encouraged to file all reports electronically, because the information is available to the public on the PDC's website withiin minutes of when the reports are submitted.

Mandatory Electronic Filing

A committee that spends, or expects to spend, at least $5,000 is required to electronically file contribution and expenditure reports. For the purpose of measuring expenditures, continuing committees aggregate expenditures in a calendar year; single year committees aggregate for the entire campaign. Once a committee reaches the threshold, the efiling requirement continues until the committee no longer exists. 

PDC's Efiling Software 

The PDC provides free software that will fulfill the efiling requirement. The software aggregates transactions as the campaign progresses, so it will be necessary for committees to enter all transactions into the software.  A committee that does not believe it will meet the $5,000 threshold may file by mail. If reports are being mailed and the committee reaches the $5,000 threshold, the committee will be required to refile electronically any reports that had been mailed. For this reason, committees are encouraged to e-file reports regardless of how much money they expect to spend.

Like any software, there is a little bit of a learning curve and treasurers will need to enter a few transactions before they feel completely comfortable with the software. For this reason, the PDC staff encourages individuals who will use the software to give themselves some time to become familiar with the software a few days before the first campaign report is due.

The PDC will post information about outages of its electronic filing systems on its website on the Important Dates calendar. Filers also can sign up to receive alerts of outages by subscribing to the "Electronic filing updates and outages" at the subscription page. Reports due on days when the applicable electronic filing system experiences a planned maintenance outage of 30 minutes or more or an unscheduled outage lasting 15 minutes or more will not be considered late if they are filed on the next business day.

Training

Help and training resources are available on the ORCA website. 

Automatic Affiliation

A political committee established, financed, maintained or controlled by a corporation, union, trade association, collective bargaining organization, federation of labor unions or any membership organization shares a contribution limit with that entity.  For example, the Association of Widget Manufacturers shares a contribution limit with the Widget Manufacturers PAC and the two of them jointly may not give a legislative candidate more than $1,000 in the primary and $1,000 in the general.  Additionally, they may not jointly give a state, county or legislative district political party committee more than $5,000 per year or a legislative caucus campaign committee more than $1,000 per year.  (The contribution limits of RCW 42.17A.405 do NOT apply to contributions given to an “exempt funds” account of a state, county or legislative district political party committee.  The political party, however, may not use these accounts for the direct support of individual candidates).

In addition, there are other structural relationships that trigger automatic affiliation and, potentially, shared contribution limits.  As mentioned above, a PAC always shares a contribution limit with the entity which established it or finances, maintains or controls it.  However, if this entity is part of a structure having national, state and local bodies, the PAC may also share a limit with these other organizational units and any PACs they may have formed.  Specifically, two or more entities share a limit if one of the entities is:

• a corporation and the other is a subsidiary, branch or division of the corporation;
• a national or international labor union, or state body of the national or international union, and the other is a local union or other subordinate organization;
• a trade association or state body of a trade association and the other is a branch or local unit of the trade association;
• a national or state collective bargaining organization and the other is a branch or local unit of the national or state collective bargaining organization;
• a national or international federation of labor unions, or a state federation of labor unions, and the other is a local body of such federation;
• a membership organization and the other is a local unit or branch of such membership organization; and
• any entity referenced above and the other is a political committee established, financed, maintained or controlled by it.

Under certain circumstances, however, the subsidiaries of a corporation, the local units of a union, or the local units of any membership organization (or any of the other entities mentioned above) may have separate contribution limits.  In the event neither the national nor state level of an organization (or the PAC of the national or state entities) contributes to a candidate or gives any indication that it supports or opposes a candidate, and the local units independently decide to contribute to a candidate for state office, each local unit has a separate contribution limit.

In other words, if the national and state entity, or their PACs, do not participate in a candidate’s campaign, then each of the local units may each have their own limits with respect to the candidate.

For example, John Johnson is running for the legislature in the 50^th legislative district.  The Widget Manufacturers Association is structured such that it has a national body (which has a PAC), a state body (which also has a PAC) and three local bodies (which also have separate PACs). 

So long as neither the national or state body or either of their PACs give a contribution to Johnson, or make an independent expenditure supporting Johnson, or otherwise communicate to the locals that they should support Johnson, then each of the local units (in conjunction with its PAC) may give Johnson $1,000 for the primary election and $1,000 for the general election.

De Facto Affiliation

Other entities—besides those that are part of the same organization—may become affiliated and share a contribution limit.  For example, three people decide to establish a PAC, collect money from like-minded folks and give to candidates.  If these same people set up another PAC—anticipating that they will then be able to give twice as much to a candidate than if they had only one PAC—they will be disappointed to learn that, in fact, the two PACs share one limit because they are operated by the same individuals.  

Two or more entities are treated as one and share a limit if one of the entities is established, financed, maintained or controlled by the other, as evidenced by any one of the following factors:

• Whether one entity owns a controlling interest in the voting stock or securities of another entity,
• Whether one entity has authority or the ability to direct or participate, other than through a vote as a member, in the governance of another entity through provisions of constitution, bylaws, contract or other formal or informal procedure or has authority or the ability to hire, appoint, demote or otherwise control, other than through a vote as a member, the officers or other decision making employees or members of another entity,
• Whether (i) one entity has a common or overlapping membership with another which indicates either a formal or ongoing relationship between the two organizations or the creation of a successor entity and (ii) the entity has an active or significant role in the formation of the other entity and (iii) the entities have similar patterns of contributions or contributors which indicate a formal or ongoing relationship between the entities, or
• Whether one entity provides, causes or arranges, funds, services or goods in a significant amount or on an ongoing basis, through direct or indirect means to the other entity, for less than full consideration. Full consideration includes the payment of membership dues.

WAC 390-16-309(3).

Single Contributor Committees

A contribution by a political committee with funds that have all been contributed by one person who exercises exclusive control over the distribution of the funds of the political committee is a contribution by the controlling person. RCW 42.17A.455(1)

The committee's funds or surplus funds may be invested in bonds, certificates, tax-exempt securities, savings accounts or other similar instruments in financial institutions or in mutual funds.

Financial institutions other than banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions may NOT be used as the campaign depository into which contributions are deposited and out of which campaign expenditures are made.  However, brokerage houses and other financial institutions may be used for investing campaign funds so long as the investment by the brokerage house or other institution is in the form of bonds, certificates, tax-exempt securities, and mutual funds.

If you invest campaign funds, take the following steps:

• Notify PDC by letter of the date, amount and the name of the financial institution where the surplus is invested.  Do not report the investment as an expenditure on Schedule A or on the C-4 report.
• Deposit all interest, dividends or income earned by the investment into the investment account.  Report this income as miscellaneous receipts on line 1d of the C-3 report.
• When the investment is terminated, re-deposit the principal plus the accrued earnings into the original campaign account.  Notify PDC by letter that this re-deposit has been made.  Do not report this transfer as a contribution on the C-3.
• Check with the IRS or your personal tax consultant about any tax liability that the investment may create.

PDC staff may contact your committee advising that a report is missing or incomplete, asking for clarification of a report or requesting additional information.  Please cooperate with these informal contacts and supply the requested information promptly.

Random audits of some committees may occur after each election.  Some of these are in-depth and you will be asked to make available all your records, including receipts and other documentation.  These audits are routine and we suggest you approach them matter-of-factly.

Audits also are conducted for cause because a complaint has been received or there is reason to believe disclosure reports are not accurate.  If you are the subject of such an audit, be assured you will have every opportunity to explain your position.

The PDC may suspend or modify the reporting requirements of persons subject to the disclosure law if it decides that the law works a “manifestly unreasonable hardship” on the filer and the modification “will not frustrate the purposes” of the law.  If you believe your circumstances meet these two statutory tests and are able to provide convincing arguments to that effect, you have the option of requesting the Commission to grant a reporting modification.

Applicants can make the request by submitting a letter explaining what relief is requested and why. 

A hearing will be scheduled to consider the request.  It’s best if you attend the hearing, but your presence is not required.  Hearings are scheduled in conjunction with PDC meetings, which are typically held in Olympia.  The PDC staff can make arrangements to allow someone to participate in the hearing by telephone, if necessary.  A modification may only be granted for one year or the duration of one campaign

No person may solicit a candidate, political committee, political party or other person for money in exchange for an endorsement or an article in the news media supporting or opposing a candidate, committee or party.  RCW 42.17A.4780

All committees must accurately record and report the actual sources and amounts of contributions received as well as the true recipients and amounts of expenditures.  It is a serious violation of the law to use a fictitious name, no name or substitute name in order to conceal the truth.  RCW 42.17A.435.

During the 21 days before the general election, no candidate for statewide office may accept aggregate contributions of more than $50,000 from any contributor eligible to give that amount.  Similarly, candidates for other offices and political committees may not accept contributions totaling more than $5,000 from any eligible contributor during this three-week period.  These limitations do not apply to contributions accepted from the state committee of either a major political party or a minor party.

The statutory language imposing the $5,000/$50,000 contribution limit has been interpreted by PDC to mean:

• A campaign loan received during the 21 days prior to the general is subject to the limit, as are any loan co-signers or guarantors;

• A pledge in excess of the amounts allowed by the limit may NOT be made by a contributor or received or redeemed by a candidate or political committee during the 21 days prior to the general;

• A committee that receives a contribution in excess of the allowed amount may retain the maximum permitted by law so long as the excess amount is immediately returned to the contributor;

• The contribution limit applies to all forms of contributions, including cash, in-kind, pledges, loans, etc., and any combination of them; and

• Earmarked contributions given to an intermediary during the 21 days before the general for the benefit of a candidate or other committee may not exceed any applicable limit for the candidate or committee and must be combined with contributions from the same contributor given directly to the candidate or committee.
• This 21-day pre-general election period begins at 12:01 a.m. PST on the third Tuesday before the general election held in November and ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on the Monday immediately before the election.

If an in-kind contribution is made twenty-two days or more before a general election and written notice of the in-kind contribution is in the possession of the recipient candidate or political committee twenty two or more days before the general election, the contribution is not subject to the respective $5,000/$50,000 last-minute contribution restriction.

An in-kind contribution in the form of personal services donated to a candidate or political committee for the duration of the twenty-one days before a general election is not subject to the respective $5,000/$50,000 last-minute contribution restriction provided that the recipient is given written notice of the total value of these personal services twenty-two or more days before the general election.  RCW 42.17A.420.

Occasionally, committees receive funds from truly anonymous sources; that is, no one involved with the committee knows who donated the money.  Up to a point, the law allows committees to keep these anonymous contributions.  Specifically, ballot measure committees may receive as much as $300 or one percent of the total contributions received to date for this campaign, whichever is greater.  (The one percent won’t come into play until the campaign receives over $30,000 in contributions.)  Continuing political committees may receive $300 or 1% of total contributions received to date for the calendar year, whichever is greater.

When a political committee reaches the limit applicable to the campaign (or the calendar year for continuing committees), no more anonymous funds may be accepted.  These excess dollars must be returned to the donors if they can be identified or forfeited to the state’s general fund.  If the contributors cannot be identified, immediately send a check to PDC payable to the State Treasurer in the amount of the overage, along with an explanation of the circumstances surrounding receipt of excess anonymous funds.

Committees may not legally use the anonymous contribution provision to avoid identifying contributors.   Only contributors who give a total of $25 or less in the aggregate need not be identified on contribution reports, but a private list identifying these donors and how much they’ve given to date must be kept by the committee.

Contributions received in connection with a qualifying low-cost fundraiser are NOT considered anonymous donations and are not subject to the $300 or 1% limit.  RCW 42.17A.220(4).

Contributors may give funds to candidates, political parties or other committees for spending on behalf of one or more other candidates or committees.  These types of donations are known as earmarked contributions.  Earmarked contributions may not simply be passed along to the benefiting candidate or committee; they must be spent—at least for the most part—for the benefit of the intended recipient.

In the case of earmarked contributions, the “original contributor” is the person making the earmarked contribution.  The “intermediary or conduit” is the candidate or committee that is provided the funds by the original contributor for spending on behalf of yet another candidate or committee.  The “beneficiary” or “benefiting candidate or committee” is the other candidate or committee who ultimately benefits from the funds spent by the intermediary or conduit.

Technically, “earmarked contributions” are defined as “any contribution given to an intermediary or conduit, either a political committee, candidate or third party, with a designation, instruction, or encumbrance, whether direct or indirect, express or implied, oral or written, which is intended to result in or which does result in all or any part of the contribution being made to or for the promotion of a certain candidate, state official or ballot proposition.”

An earmarked contribution counts against the original contributor’s limit for the benefiting candidate.  If all of the earmarked contribution is not spent by the intermediary or conduit for the benefit of the designated recipient, the remainder must be transferred to the recipient unless it is re-designated by the original contributor to another recipient.  If the remainder is used to benefit another candidate or committee and the intermediary or conduit directed or had any control over the selection of this recipient, the amount of the remainder is a contribution from both the original contributor and the intermediary or conduit.

If an earmarked contribution is refused by the benefiting candidate or committee, the earmarked contribution must be returned by the intermediary or conduit to the original contributor within five business days of the date the intermediary or conduit is notified.

Intermediaries or conduits will report earmarked contributions as follows:

Complete Special Report E and mail the original version of the report to PDC and a copy to the beneficiary within two business days of receiving the earmarked contribution.

Notify the beneficiary of the actual amount spent as soon as it is practicable, hopefully no later than the end of month in which the election is held.  If more funds than the amount donated by the original contributor were spent, be sure to inform the beneficiary of the source and amount of the additional dollars.

With the first C-4 report filed subsequent to the general election, file a recapitulation of earmarked funds received.  For each earmarked contribution, include:

• the date it was received by the intermediary or conduit,
• the beneficiary’s name,
• the total amount of the contribution, and
• the amount expended on behalf of the beneficiary.

The candidate or committee benefitted by the earmarked contributions will report it as follows:

On the first C-4 report due after receiving notice that an earmarked contribution has been received by the intermediary/conduit, report in Part 1 of Schedule B:

• the date notice was received of the earmarked contribution;
• the original contributor’s name and address,
• if more than $100 and original contributor is an individual, provide contributor’s employer and occupation,
• the intermediary’s name and address,
• the full amount received by the intermediary or conduit as an in-kind contribution,
• the aggregate contributed by the original contributor for the campaign; and
• the election for which the contribution was made.

On the first C-4 report filed after being notified by the intermediary/conduit that the actual amount spent was different from the amount originally reported as an in-kind contribution, file a Schedule C detailing the correction.  If less was spent than originally reported, explain the correction and reduce the amount of the in-kind contribution in Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule C and on Lines 6 and 15 of the C-4.  The correction must be included in both Parts 1 and 2 because an in-kind contribution is both a contribution and an expenditure.

If more was spent, show the amount of the increase and state what source(s) supplied the additional funds in Part 1 of Schedule C.  Also include the correction amount in Part 2 and put the amount of the increase on Lines 6 and 15 of the C-4.  (Note:  The explanation may be an attachment and may consist of the notice received from a party central committee.)

Also see Contribution Limits

Background

Washington State voters enacted contribution limits in 1992 by approving Initiative 134.  The Public Disclosure Commission enforces these limits and has the authority to make inflationary adjustments at the beginning of even numbered years  Only the Legislature or the voters, through the initiative process, can make other changes to contribution limits, such as expanding or eliminating them.

Making Contributions

Bona Fide Party & Caucus Campaign Committees

Bona fide party and caucus committees' limits for contributions to most candidates are based on the jurisdiction's registered voter counts.  Registered voter counts & dollar amounts for 2018 candidates  Legislative district and county bona fide party committees may contribute only to candidates that are elected by voters living within the district or county.

Other Committees

Contributions to state and some local office candidates from all other political committees are:

There are no limits on contributions given to candidates running for offices not listed here.  

Primary and General Contributions

Donors giving to candidates subject to contribution limits may make primary election contributions up to 30 days after the date of the primary if candidate loses in the primary and the candidate’s authorized committee has insufficient funds to pay primary debts outstanding as of the date of the primary.

No general election contribution is permitted after December 31 of the election year from any contributor -- except the candidate using personal funds for his or her own campaign.

Contributions to the Party & Caucus Committees

Bona fide parties and the caucus campaign committees may transfer money between themselves without limit, but other political committees contributing to them must observe these limits:

Receiving Contributions

Contributions to a political committee are generally not limited, except for the limits on contributions to party and caucus campaign committees explained above and the last minute restriction explained below.

"Last Minute" Contributions Before the General Eleciton

During the 21 days before the general election:

• a committee, other than a ballot measure committee, may not accept more than $5,000 from a single contributor, other than the state committee of a bona fide political party, and
• legislative district and county bona fide party committees and caucus campaign committees may not give more than $5,000 to a local office candidate or more than $50,000 to a statewide office candidate.

The following entities may NOT give to legislative or state executive office candidates, to a state official against whom recall charges have been filed or to a political committee expecting to make expenditures supporting the recall of the official:

• a corporation or business entity not doing business in Washington State*;
• a labor union with fewer than ten members who reside in Washington State; and
• a political committee that has not received, during the preceding 180 days, contributions of $10 or more from at least ten Washington State registered voters.

[*By administrative rule, a corporation or business is “doing business in Washington State” if it conducts continuous and substantial activities in this state so that it acquires a legal obligation.  For example: registering as a foreign corporation in Washington, operating one or more business locations in Washington, hiring employees to work in this state or purchasing supplies or services from other Washington businesses.]

Federal election law prohibits candidates and political committees in this country from receiving contributions from foreign nationals (individuals, corporations or other foreign business entities).  However, persons having “green cards” may contribute to elections in the United States.

Federally chartered banks, federal contractors, corporations, unions and insurance companies should consult their legal advisors to determine whether other state or federal statutes prohibit their making contributions.

According to Washington law, “no insurer or fraternal benefit society doing business in this state shall directly or indirectly pay or use, or offer, consent, or agree to pay or use any money or thing of value for or in aid of any candidate for the office of insurance commissioner; nor for reimbursement or indemnification of any person for money or property so used.” (emphasis added) [RCW 48.30.110]

All monetary contributions from political committees, political parties and caucus political committees must be by written instrument (e.g., check, money order, cashiers check, credit card transaction, wire transfer).  Those from individuals, associations, unions or businesses must be by written instrument if the contribution is more than $100.  RCW 42.17A.475

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency should be treated as the equivalent of cash and limited to $100. The cryptocurrency should be converted to legal tender, deposited in the campaign depository within five business days of receipt (RCW 42.17A.220), and timely reported. If cryptocurrency is paid directly to a vendor for goods or services, it should be disclosed as an in-kind contribution using the fair market value of the cryptocurrency at the time the payment is made. The in-kind contribution must be timely and accurately reported by the recipient, including the name and address of the vendor.

Cash contributions must be deposited into the campaign bank account, and not spent directly or mingled with petty cash.  Monetary contributions are required to be deposited into the campaign account within five business days of receipt. RCW 42.17A.475.

No one may directly or indirectly reimburse another person or entity for a contribution to a candidate, political committee or political party.  RCW 42.17A.485.

A candidate who solicits contributions for one office may not use those contributions to seek a different office without first obtaining written approval of the persons or entities who donated the contributions.

In other words, if a candidate decides to run for the state senate after registering and collecting money for a state house race, the candidate may not transfer that money to the senate campaign without first getting written approval from the contributors of the monetary contributions remaining in the house campaign account as well as donors of any remaining in-kind contributions.

This contributor approval process applies to “active campaign funds” (funds on hand during an active campaign) as well as using surplus campaign funds from one campaign to seek a different office.  RCW 42.17A.490.

Only an individual is permitted to collect contributions from others and transmit them to a candidate. Political committees, businesses, unions, and organizations (or people representing them) are prohibited from collecting contributions from various sources (commonly known as bundling) and delivering or transmitting those bundled contributions to a candidate.

With respect to the legal bundling undertaken by individuals – unless collected contributions are from the individual’s employer, immediate family or an association to which the individual belongs – deliver the contributions to the candidate and provide the following information for each contribution:  contributor’s full name, street address, occupation, name of employer or, if self-employed, and place of business.  RCW 42.17A.470.

The treasurer must authorize each expenditure made from the political committee’s funds.  Treasurers are also required to maintain a complete record of all expenditures, including obligations that have not yet been paid by the campaign.  In addition to reporting expenditures to the PDC, the political committee also must disclose each order placed (but not paid), debt or other obligation (except loans) of more than $750 when it: 1) has been outstanding for more than five business days in the 30 days before an election, or 2) has been outstanding for more than 10 business days during all other times.

If the campaign makes expenditures of over $50 in cash, rather than by check, be sure to obtain a receipt signed by the vendor and the treasurer and keep it as part of your records. PDC recommends that cash transactions be kept to a minimum. RCW 42.17A.425.

No state executives, legislators, or their employees or agents may solicit or accept contributions for any state office candidate, to defray public office related expenses, or to retire a campaign debt during what is known as the “session freeze period;” that is, during the regular legislative session, the 30 days before a regular session, and during any special session of the legislature.  This prohibition also means that no pledges or payments of earlier pledges may be requested or received during the session freeze period.  RCW 42.17A.560

Online and credit card contributions, as well as contributions mailed to the candidate, are not considered received within the freeze period provided the donor made the contribution before the freeze period began. Non-incumbent, newly elected state officers are not subject to the legislative session freeze period until they are sworn in to office.

Employers or labor organizations may not increase the compensation offered an officer or employee with the intention that such compensation would be used for political purposes.  Likewise no employer or labor organization may discriminate against an officer or employee for failure to support or oppose a candidate, ballot proposition, political party, or political committee.

Each employer or other person or entity who withholds or otherwise diverts a portion of a Washington resident’s wages or salary, or that of a non-resident whose primary place of work is in the State of Washington for political purposes is required to have on file the written authorization of the individual subject to the payroll withholding or diversion.  A sample withholding authorization form follows this section.  The withholding authorization may be revoked at anytime by the employee, and, at least annually, an employee from whom wages or salary are withheld shall be notified of the provisions relating to voluntary payroll deductions.  RCW 42.17A.495.

All forms used to authorize political contribution withholdings must include, but need not be limited to, the following information:

• The name of the individual authorizing the withholding or diversion;
• The name of the individual’s employer;
• The name, city and state of each political committee for which contributions are to be withheld;
• If more than one political committee is specified, the total dollar amount per pay period (or per week, month or year) to be withheld for each;
• The date on which the authorized withholdings or diversions are to be effective;
• A statement that reads: “No employer or labor organization may discriminate against an officer or employee in the terms or conditions of employment for (a) the failure to contribute to, (b) the failure in any way to support or oppose, or (c) in any way supporting or opposing a candidate, ballot proposition, political party, or political committee;”
• The individual’s signature; and
• The date on which the form was completed.

Sample contribution witholding authorization:

A person may sponsor only one political committee for the same elected office or same ballot measure per election cycle.  In other words, two committees who have the same sponsor may not contribute to the same candidate or ballot measure committee.  Once one of the committees contributes to a particular candidate, the other committee may not make independent expenditures or electioneering communications benefitting the candidate or who received contributions from the sponsor’s other committee. The same restriction would apply if one of the committees had contributed to a ballot measure committee – another committee with the same sponsor would not be able to make independent expenditures benefitting the ballot measure.  RCW 42.17A.205(5).

See related PDC Interpretations 01-03 (School District Guidelines) and 04-02 (Local Agency Guidelines)

Elected and appointed officials as well as public employees are prohibited from using or authorizing the use of any facilities of a public office or agency, directly or indirectly, to assist a candidate’s election campaign or to promote or oppose a ballot proposition.  Public agency facilities include, but are not limited to, office stationary, postage, machines, equipment, employees during working hours, vehicles, office space, office publications and client lists.  This restriction does not apply to:

• action taken at an open public meeting by members of an elected legislative body to express a collective decision, or to actually vote upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot proposition so long as any required notice of the meeting includes the title and number of the ballot proposition, and members of the legislative body or members of the public are afforded an approximately equal opportunity for the expression of an opposing view;
• a statement by an elected official in support of or in opposition to any ballot proposition at any open press conference or in response to a specific inquiry;
• activities that are part of the normal and regular conduct of the office or agency.   RCW 42.17A.555. “Normal and regular” has been interpreted to mean those activities that are authorized by law and customary for the agency.  WAC 390-05-273.

For more discussion of election-related communications by government agencies, see this staff analysis. 

Also see Sponsor ID Requirements for Independent Expenditures & Electioneering Communications

The sponsor of a political ad -- the candidate, committee or other person paying for the ad -- usually must be identified.  If a person acts as an agent for someone else or is reimbursed for the funds actually used to pay for the ad, the original source of the payment (or the person doing the reimbursing) is the sponsor.  It's illegal to use an assumed name when identifying an ad's sponsor.

Wording:

Use the words "paid for by" or "sponsored by" followed by the name and address.  Include the name and address of each sponsor, when there are multiple sponsors.  If one person pays for printing and another person pays for mailing, list both as sponsors.

Political advertising supporting or opposing a ballot measure that costs $1,000 or more – a single ad or the total cost of all advertising that a political committee sponsors supporting or opposing a particular ballot measure – must contain the names of the committee’s “top five” contributors who gave the largest contributions in excess of $700 to the committee during the 12 months before the ad appeared.

Text Size & Placement:

Print ads and websites:

Display sponsor ID and any party preference in an area set apart from the ad text.  Sponsor ID and party preference should be on the first page of a multiple-page ad.  Use at least 10-point type; do not screen or half-tone the text.  Exception:  If a person contributes cash, goods or services to the campaign in order to assist in paying for an ad, it is not necessary to show this contributor's name as a sponsor. The candidate or the candidate's committee may be shown as the sponsor instead, provided the candidate properly reports the contribution.  

Billboards and posters:  Use type that is at least 10% of the largest size type used in the ad.

Small online ads with limited characters:  Display sponsor ID in an automatic display such as a mouse tip/rollover or nonblockable pop-up that remains visible for at least 4 seconds OR on a webpage that is conspicuously linked to the small ad and reached with one mouse click.

Broadcast, video, and online audio ads:

Clearly identify or speak the sponsor’s name and any party preference.  Sponsor’s address is not required.  The Top 5 contributor information required in videos and television ads about ballot measures may be displayed on the screen for at least 4 seconds in letters greater than 4% of the visual screen height at a reasonable color contrast with the background.  Abbreviations may be used when naming a Top 5 contributor, if the full name of the contributor has already been clearly spoken in the advertisement.

Items Exempt from Sponsor ID:

badges & badge holders

balloons

brushes

bumper stickers < 4"x15"

business cards

buttons

cigarette lighters

clothing

coasters

combs

cups

emery boards

envelopes

erasers

Frisbees

glasses

golf balls & tees

hand-held signs

hats

ice scrapers

key rings

knives

labels

letter openers

matchbooks

nail clippers & files

print newspaper ads < one column inch

noisemakers

official voters pamphlet

paper & plastic cups and plates

paperweights

pencils

pendants

pens

pinwheels

pocket protectors

reader boards with moveable letters

ribbons

rulers < 12"

shoe horns

skywriting

stickers < 2-3/4" x 1"

sunglasses

sun visors

swizzle sticks

tickets to fund raisers

whistles

yard signs < 8' x 4'

yo-yos

... and all similar items

Definitions:

Political Advertising

Advertising displays, newspaper ads, billboards, signs, brochures, articles, tabloids, flyers, letters, radio or TV presentations, or other means of mass communication, used for the purpose of appealing, directly or indirectly, for votes or for financial or other support or opposition in an election campaign.  "Mass communication" is a message intended to reach a large audience through any of the methods described above as well as periodicals, sample ballots, websites, emails, text messages, social media, and other online or electronic formats enabling the exchange of communication.  Sending 100 or more identical or substantially similar letters, emails or test messages to specific recipients within a 30-day period is an example of mass communication.

Independent Expenditure (IE)

1. the ad supports or opposes a candidate for state, local, or judicial office;
2. the ad is paid for by someone other than a candidate, a candidate's committee or agent;
3. the sponsor does the advertising completely independently of any candidate support in the ad (or the opponent of the candidate opposed), or a candidate's committee or agent;
4. the sponsor did not received the candidate's encouragement or approval to produce the ad; and
5. the ad costs at least $1,000, or the cost of the latest ad when combined with the cost of earlier ads supporting or opposing the candidate, totals $1,000 or more.

Electioneering Communication (EC)

1. clearly identifies at least one candidate for state, local, or judicial office;
2. appears within 60 days of an election in the candidate's jurisdiction;
3. is produced through radio, TV, postal mailing, billboard, newspaper, periodical or digital platform; and
4. either alone, or in combination with other communications by the sponsor identifying the candidate, has a fair market value of $1,000 or more.

A sponsor of an independent political ad regarding a ballot measure and a candidate must prorate the cost of the ad to determine if the candidate portion meets either 1-5 or A-D above.  If so, the sponsor must comply with the disclosure requirements explained in this brochure.

SPONSOR IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Sponsor ID Text

Candidate Advertisements -

The statement "No candidate authorized this ad.  It is paid for by (name, address, city, state)" must be part of the ad.  A political committee that is not a bona fide party committee must also include:

• "Top Five Contributors" followed by a list of the names of the five contributors who made the largest contributions in excess of $700 to the committee during the 12 months before the ad appears; AND
• The full name of the individual or entity that established or directly maintains or controls the sponsoring committee (or indirectly maintains or controls the sponsoring committee through the formation of one or more political committees).

Recommended format:  No candidate authorized this ad.  It is paid for by the Committee for Good Government (Gotham City Merchants Assn.)  Top 5 Contributors...

Ballot Measure Advertisements -

Use the words "paid for by" or "sponsored" followed by the sponsor's name and address.  Include all sponsors' names and addresses, if there are multiple sponsors.  When the cost of the ad is $1,000 or more - singly or the total cost of all advertising sponsored by a committee about a particular ballot measure - also include:

• Top Five Contributors" followed by a list of the names of the five contributors who made the largest contributions in excess of $700 to the committee during the 12 months before the ad appears; 

Sponsor ID Size & Placement

Written Ads & Websites :

Candidate party preference and sponsor requirements must:

• appear on the first page of the communication in at least 10 point type, or
• for billboards or posters, appear in type at least 10% of the largest size type used in the ad, and
• be set apart from any other ad text.  Do not screen or half-tone the text.

Exemptions:  Small online ads with limited characters may display the required elements in an automatic display such as a mouse tip/rollover or nonblockable pop-up that remains visible for at least 4 seconds OR on a webpage that is conspicuously linked to the small ad and reached by one click of the mouse.  Yard signs no bigger than 8' x 4', clothing such as T-shirts, and bumper stickers no bigger than 4" x 15" are except from the sponsor requirements.  See list of all items exempt from sponsor ID..

Party Preference for broadcast ads, videos, and online audio ads

Clearly identity or speak the sponsor's name and any party preference.  (Sponsor's address not required.)  If identified, staff recommends that the party preference appear on the screen for at least 4 seconds in letters greater than 4% of the visual screen height at a reasonable color contrast with the background.  

Top 5 contributor language for broadcast ads, videos, and online audio ads 

When necessary in TV or video ads, a political committee has the option of displaying its Top 5 contributor names on the screen for at least 4 seconds in letters greater than 4% of the visual screen height at a reasonable color contrast with the background.  An abbreviation may be used when naming a Top 5 contributor, if the full name of the contributor is clearly spoken in the ad.

Alternate Option for TV and Other Mediums with a Visual Image:

The "paid for by" statement and political committee disclosures may appear in print, so long as they are visible for at least 4 seconds, appear in letters greater than 4% of the visual screen height, and have a reasonable color contrast with the background.

Describing candidates in ads:

False political advertising:

It is illegal to sponsor a political ad, with actual malice, that contains a statement constituting libel or defamation per se* if the statement:

• directly or indirectly implies a candidate has the support or endorsement of any person or organization when the candidate does not (unless the statement is made by the person or organization),
• is a false statement of material fact about a candidate,** or
• falsely represents that a candidate is an incumbent.

*See RCW 42.17A.335(2) for a definition of libel and defamation per se.

**Unless a candidate is making a statement about him or herself or the statement is made by the candidate's agent about the candidate.

It is also illegal to:

• use an assumed name for sponsor ID in a political ad;
• distribute campaign material deceptively similar in design or appearance to the voter and candidate pamphlets published by the Secretary of State, or
• use the state seal or its likeness to assist or defeat a candidate.

When to Register

A political committee that organizes within the last three weeks before an election must file the committee registration statement (C-1pc) within three business days of organizing or of when it first has the expectation of receiving contributions or making expenditures in the election campaign.

All other political committees must file the C-1pc within two weeks of organizing or first expecting to receive or spend funds.

Completing the C-1pc Statement

Give the committee’s complete, official name.  Sponsored committees must incorporate the sponsor’s name in the committee’s name.  See 5.  Do not use abbreviations in the committee’s name.

Include any acronym in the space provided (for example, “HALT” for Homeowners Against Lofty Taxes).

Show the committee’s full mailing address, including the nine-digit zip, if known.  At a minimum, give the first five digits of the zip code. Also provide telephone, facsimile and e-mail address.

Indicate whether this is a new or amended registration and whether your group is a continuing committee or organized for one specified election.

1. ​Identify the purpose/description of your committee.  Single election year committees indicate if whether the purpose is to support or oppose candidates and/or political parties.  Committee types explained.
2. Give the name, address and relationship of any other committee with which your committee is affiliated either structurally, for joint fund raising purposes, or because the committee meet one of the factor tests.
3. Choose a reporting option after carefully noting the limitations that apply to mini reporting.  Do not choose mini reporting unless the committee intends to stay within their monetary limits during the entire calendar year.  Ballot measure committees must stay within the monetary limits during the entire campaign.
4. Identify the Campaign Manager’s or Media Contract’s name, address and daytime telephone number.
5. Identify the committee treasurer’s name, address and daytime telephone number.  This is the person who is ultimately responsible for receiving contributions, making expenditures, keeping accurate, detailed records, and filing timely and accurate disclosure reports.
6. List the name, address and title of any person who performs only ministerial functions for the committee and another candidate or political committee.  Ministerial functions are activities carried out as part of the duties of an administrative office without exercise of personal judgment or discretion.  Typically, persons performing ministerial functions may, under the supervision of a candidate or committee officer, file PDC reports, make deposits, pay bills, and maintain campaign finance records.
7. List the name, address and title of the committee’s chairperson, vice-chair, manager, coordinator and other key people.  There is no legal requirement specifying what officers your committee must have, other than a treasurer.
8. Name the financial institution where the political committee’s bank account is maintained, along with the branch office location (if applicable) and city.
9. During the eight days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) before each primary, general or special election in which your committee is spending money, campaign books of account must be open for public inspection by appointment.  Supply the street address and city where these books may be examined and how the campaign may be contacted for appointments.
10. Eligibility to give to another political committee and state office candidates. Absence of a check mark means your committee does NOT qualify to give to another committee or legislative and executive statewide candidates.
11. Paper-filed registrations must be signed by the committee treasurer.  E-filers will complete a certification process before submitting the registration. It requires that the filer acknowledge the duty to report changes to email addresses within 10 days. A campaign's email address constitutes its official address for purposes of all communications from the commission.

Amending the C-1pc

An amendment is required within ten days of when the information on a C-1pc changes. 

A committee that selects the full reporting option must file reports that disclose contributions received, other receipts, expenditures, and debt.  All full reporting committees will be able to file these reports electronically and any committee that spends or expects to spend $5,000 or more must efile.  Candidates must comply with filing deadlines and take care to include all information that must be disclosed for each transaction.  These online instructions explain what information must be disclosed for typical campaign activities and record keeping.  Report due dates are found on the Forms page, in the PDC's ORCA software, and in the online calendar.

Reporting Basics

Money In

1. Accept a contribution.
2. Deposit it in the campaign account within five days of when it was received.
3. Report the deposit on a C-3, Cash Receipts Monetary Contributions.  Include miscellaneous receipts in C-3 reports, such as bank interest, vendor refunds, etc.
4. A Schedule L should accompany the C-3 when a loan is disclosed | Use Schedule Au to report Auction Proceeds

Accelerated Reporting

During the last week before the primary election and the last three weeks before the general election, a committee must deliver the C-3 or a special Last Minute Contribution Report to the PDC within 48 hours of receiving $1,000 or more from a single source.

Money Out

1. Spend money from the campaign account after getting the OK from the candidate, treasurer, or another individual who can authorize expenditures and is named on the C-1.  Deliver the receipt to the treasurer.
2. Report the expense on a C-4, Campaign Summary Receipts & Expenditures.  Note that each C-4 report covers a specific period.  All expenditures made during the reporting period are included along with a recap of the deposits made.
3. A separate schedule will accompany the C-4 to disclose types of transactions:
   1. Schedule A - recaps deposits and shows expenditures.
   2. Schedule B - lists in-kind contributions, pledges, and debt
   3. Schedule L - discloses loan payments, loans still owed, and forgiveness

Accelerated Reporting

During the last week before the primary election and the last three weeks before the general election, a committee must deliver a special Last Minute Contribution Report to the PDC within 24 hours of giving a contribution of $1,000 or more to a particular campaign.

Corrections

Reports should be reviewed before they are filed to make sure the dates, amounts, and other information is accurate.  During this review, compare the report to the deposit slip or bank statement and make sure that the amounts match.  Correct any discrepancies before the report is filed.  The PDC understands that mistakes might happen even when great care is taken, or a campaign may decide to refund a contribution.  Efilers will correct the original transaction and refile the report.  Because the C-4 reports show cumulative totals, any subsequent C-4 reports must be re-filed.  Vendor refunds are reported as adjustments.  Step-by-step instructions for corrections and refunds are included in the ORCA software's frequently asked questions.  

Monetary contributions are not the only things of value received by campaigns.  Frequently, contributors will donate goods and services in lieu of or in addition to making monetary donations

Exempt from Disclosure

Incidental in-kind contributions

Small amounts of good or services donated to a committee that either singly or in conjunction with other in-kinds from the same contributor do not exceed $25 in value during the election cycle.  Carefully track these incidental contributions because they become reportable if the contributor gives additional contributions and the aggregate total exceeds $25.

Volunteers' Out-of-Pocket Expenditures

The first $50 in the aggregate a volunteer spends out-of-pocket on the campaign is not an in-kind contribution. Once a volunteer spends more than $50 out-of-pocket, report all of that volunteer’s expenditures as in-kind contributions.  Subsequent expenditures by the volunteer must be disclosed on future reports as additional contributions.  If someone who is not a volunteer purchases something for the campaign and spends more than $25, the campaign will report the expenditure as an in-kind contribution.

Member Organizations' Communications to Members

A committee is not required to report an association's cost of communication with members conveying support for the committee.  Note, though an association pay request that members directly contribute to the committee, but the association is not allowed to collect the contributions and then deliver them to the committee.   Associations and other entities may arrange to have their members provide volunteer services political committee without an in-kind contribution occurring so long as the coordination involved in this activity only results in incidental expenditures to the association as discussed above.

Volunteer Services

As discussed under Volunteer Services, the personal services of campaign volunteers who perform common volunteer functions are not reportable as in-kind contributions so long as the volunteers are not paid by anyone for the campaign work they do.  

In-Kind Contributions That Must Be Disclosed

Common examples of in-kind contributions that are reportable include donated office space, free or reduced cost printing or polling services, training of campaign workers or managers or help with preparing political advertising at no cost to the campaign or at less than fair market value.  Committees who received donated staff time from employers must report the contribution from the employer.  The same is true if a union or some other person or entity were pays an individual for the time or the services rendered to a campaign.  Whenever the committee receives an item or service that meets the definition of contribution and is not incidental (as discussed above), and the campaign does not pay full value for the item or service, a reportable in-kind contribution has been received.

Valuing In-Kind Contributions

The value of an in-kind contribution is determined by the circumstances involved.  For example, if a contributor

• buys supplies or equipment for the campaign, the in-kind contribution equals the amount spent on the purchase;
• takes out an advertisement supporting a candidate (after collaborating with or receiving approval from the candidate or the candidate's campaign or agent), the in-kind contribution equals the cost of the ad;
• loans your campaign the use of a computer or copier, the in-kind equals the cost of leasing a similar piece of equipment for the period of time in question;
• prints campaign literature at a cost below the printer's normal charge for a similar job, the in-kind equals the amount of the discount;
• provides food or beverages for a campaign event, the in-kind contribution equals the amount spent on the items provided or, in the case of a business that already has the items on hand, the amount that business would normally expect to receive from the sale of the items.

The overriding principle governing the value of an in-kind contribution is "the amount a well-informed buyer or lessee, willing but not obligated to buy or lease, would pay; and the amount a well-informed seller, or lessor, willing but not obligated to sell or lease, would accept." 

Generally, this means the amount the contributor would ordinarily expect to receive if someone were paying him or her to provide the item or service.  For example, if a candidate is given materials by a local retail hardware store for the construction of yard signs, an in-kind contribution has been made equal to the normal retail selling price of the materials.  However, if the business donating the materials is a wholesale supplier, the in-kind contribution is equal to the amount this wholesaler charges its customers for the materials

Disclosing In-Kind Contributions

In-kind donations that are not incidental must be fully reported in Part 1 of Schedule B to the C-4 with the following details:

• the date the contribution was received;
• the name and full address of the contributor;
• a brief description of the contribution;
• its fair market value;
• the cumulative total this contributor has given for the primary or general election, whichever applies;
• a designation whether this contribution is for the primary or general election; and
• if the contributor is an individual who has cumulatively given more than $100 to the campaign, including both primary and general contributions, identify the individual's employer (by name, city and state) and occupation.

See related:  PDC Interpretation 14-01

Disclosure

The following information must be reported for each loan received:

• the date the loan was received;
• the lender's name and address (and, if the loan is more than $100, report the lender’s occupation as well as name, city and state of the employer);
• if the loan is from the candidate or a contributor who has a per-election limit, show whether the loan is for the primary or the general election;
• the amount of the loan;
• the rate of interest charged (if any);
• the terms for repayment;
• the date by which the loan is to be repaid in full; and
• the names of any endorser, co-signer or loan guarantor.

Repayments are reported in Part 2 of the Schedule L and on the C-4 report.  The amount contributed by lenders and co-signers is reduced as their loans are repaid, but this does not mean the candidate may be repaid more than the $6,000 repayment limit.

Also see instructions for Low Cost Fund Raisers - events that qualify for abbreviated reporting/tracking due to the small amount of money paid by the participants.

Auctions

Auctions, other than qualifying low-cost fund raisers, must be fully reported on an Auction Report (Attachment Au), with the total received noted on line 1d of the C-3.

The ORCA software makes reporting auctions very easy:  After the auction is held, enter each auction item, contributor information for each item’s donor and buyer, the item’s fair market value and sales price.  Based on this information, the software determines who contributed the auction’s proceeds.  (When a donated item sells for its fair market value or less, the amount the item sells for is contributed by the item’s donor.  When an item sells for more than its fair market value, the item’s fair market value is a contribution from the item’s donor and the excess is a contribution from the item’s buyer.)

Preparation is the key to simplifying the reporting of auctions.

Pre-auction:  Make a list of the donated items.  You’ll need a brief description of each item and its fair market value along with the donor’s name, address, and occupation/employer information if the donor is an individual.

During the auction:  Keep track of who buys each item and the winning bid amount.  You’ll need the bidder’s name, address, and occupation/employer information if the bidder is an individual.

Other Fundraisers

Proceeds from a fund raiser are contributions from the participants.  The purchaser of tickets is the contributor, even when the tickers are given to others.  Committees must track of how much each person attending a fund raiser donates and report these itemized contributions on the C-3 report.  (See Record Keeping)  

Anonymous Contributions

It occasionally happens that the committee is unable to determine the source of a contribution received at a fund raiser.  Committees may keep anonymous contributions up to $300 or 1% of the total contributions, whichever is greater.  See Anonymous Contributions for more information.

Deducting the Cost of Consumables

"Consumables" includes food, beverages, preparation, catering, entertainment furnished at the event, and other staging costs.

The law permits that the amount of a contribution received in connection with a fund raising event (such as a dinner) may be reduced by the cost of the food, beverages, preparation, catering or entertainment furnished at the event and, arguably, consumed by the contributor.

If you choose to do this, some special bookkeeping techniques are necessary and you'll probably want to set up a subsidiary set of records for the event.

You have to determine the per person amount to be deducted in order to deduct the cost of consumables from each contribution received.  To do this, add up all the separate charges for food, beverages, preparation, catering, entertainment and all taxes paid for the event.  Divide this total by the number of persons you planned for the number you told the caterer to provide food for.  (This number of persons will likely be smaller than the number of persons invited, but may be larger than the number who actually show up.  Nevertheless, using the number of guests you relied on for planning purposes is a fair way to compute the per-person cost of consumables.)

The amount you arrive at after dividing the total cost of consumables by the number of persons you planned would attend is the per-person consumables cost.  Deduct this amount from each contributor's donation.  This "net" contribution is the amount entered in the ORCA software for each contributor.  If you did not charge a uniform admission amount, the figure for each contributor will vary.  However, if you asked each person, for example, to contribute $100 and the per person consumables cost is $20, the C-3 for this event would show an $80 contribution from each contributor who purchased one ticket.  If a couple purchases two tickets for themselves, each of them is entitled to one deduction.  In order to avoid the situation where a few contributors pay for all of the food and beverages at an event without showing this expense as a contribution to the candidate, if a contributor purchases several tickets, that contributor is still only entitled to one, per-person deduction for the cost of consumables.

The C-3 report representing the deposit of monies received for the fund raiser will not match the amount of the deposit.  This is understood.  The "shortfall" is offset in your records by the fact that you will also not report on Schedule A the payments you made to vendors for the consumables.  Of course, your records will show that you made these payments, but if you also reported them on the Schedule A, your total expenditures amount would be too high in relation to the amount of contributions you have reported receiving.

[Note, if you are uncomfortable with this common method of reporting deductions for consumables, you might consider reporting on the C-3 each contributor's "net" contribution as discussed above, but also including a line item, in Part 2 of the report, that reflects the lump sum of all monies received that cover consumables provided at the event.  If you do this, then your C-3 total for the fund raiser should match the bank deposit of the monies received from the event.  Then, since you are accounting for the overall, full amount on your C-3, you would also report the payments to vendors for the consumables on Schedule A.]

Note:

The ability to deduct for the cost of consumables may not be construed in a way that undermines contribution limits.  For example, if five persons were each to pay one-fifth of the full cost of holding an event for a candidate, part of their in-kind contribution to the candidate would include the amounts paid for the consumables furnished at the event and this in-kind contribution counts against each contributor's limit.

In order to avoid having these in-kind contributions count against each contributor's limit, it might be tempting to a candidate's campaign to organize an event and then have these five persons buy all of the tickets and use the consumables deduction to reduce the amount of the actual contribution from each.  This approach would allow the contributors to be the de facto hosts of the event without showing the full value of the contribution made.

However, this result is not consistent with contribution limits nor with the intent of the consumables deduction.   As such, each purchaser of fundraiser tickets to a candidate's event is allowed one per-person deduction for the cost of consumables, regardless of how many tickets are purchased. The candidate's committee could still ask table captains to be responsible for selling, for example, ten tickets to an event.  But, each ticket would have to be purchased by a separate contributor in order for the campaign to deduct the pro-rated share of consumables from every ticket sold.  (If the table captain is actually going to collect money on behalf of the campaign, he or she needs to be a deputy treasurer.  The table captain would not have to be a deputy treasurer if he or she only is responsible for finding purchasers who then buy their tickets directly from the campaign.)

The record keeping associated with a fund raiser may be greatly reduced if the event qualifies as a Low-Cost Fund Raiser. Note, do not deduct for the cost of consumables when reporting low-cost fund raisers.

Low-cost fund raisers are certain types of events that generate small contributions from those who attend and require limited tracking and disclosure. Rather than tracking and reporting each person who attends and how much is contributed by each, the committee reports the event date, describes the event, and discloses the lump-sum amount received from participants who paid $50 or less. The committee is not required to keep track of how much each person contributed for recordkeeping or reporting to the PDC. 

In-kind contributions of $50 or under received in connection with a qualifying low-cost fund raiser need not be reported at all.  

Qualifying Events

• retail sales of goods or services at a reasonable approximation of their fair market value;
• a gambling operation conducted in compliance with state gambling laws (contact the Gambling Commission at 360/486-3440);
• a food and beverage event where the admission price or the cost for the food and beverages is no more than $25;
• an entertainment event (concert, dance, theater performance, etc.) where the admission price is no more than $25; and
• an auction or similar sale where the total fair market value of items donated by any person is no more than $50.

If someone pays over $50 to participate in a qualifying event or pays more than $50 to purchase auction or sale items, that contribution is not included in the lump sum reported from the low-cost fund raiser.  Instead, itemize the contribution on the C-3.  The rest of the funds collected from participants paying $50 or less may still be lumped together and reported as a single sum on the C-3.

Disqualification

The entire event does not qualify as a low-cost fund raiser (and you must record and report the amounts given by each contributor participating in the event) if you:

• sell goods or services at over their fair market value, or
• hold food/beverage or entertainment events having an admission price of more than $25, or
• hold an auction or similar sale and someone donates items worth more than $50.

Some people invited to low-cost fund raisers will not pay at the door, but rather will forward a check either before or after the event.  So long as they attend the event, you may treat their contribution like other funds received in connection with the event.  It's not expected that all the funds received in relation to an event will appear on one C-3, since money will trickle in both before and after the event.  However, if someone does not attend the fund raiser, but sends along a contribution anyway, that money is treated as a regular contribution and is not lumped together with fund raiser receipts

See related PDC Interpretation 12-01

A pledge is a promise of a future monetary or in-kind contribution.  All pledges are reportable in Part 2 of Schedule B.  A pledge may be written or oral and for cash or in-kind contributions.  Pledges are built into a contributor's aggregate contribution total.  Pledges must be made for a specific amount, with every intention of the giver to pay the stated amount in its entirety, and that amount, when combined with other contributions from that contributor, may not exceed the contributor's limit.

A line of credit constitutes a pledge of a loan.  Report the total amount of the line of credit as a pledge.  As funds are drawn or the credit is used, report the amount as a loan on the C-3 and Part 1 of the Schedule L.  Reduce the outstanding pledge by the same amount.  Payments to the lender (person who extended the credit) are reported as loan repayments on Schedule A and Schedule L, Part 2.

Until redeemed or cancelled, the pledge will appear on the C-4 report, Schedule B, section 2.

Occasionally, a political committee receives money that is not a contribution.  Typical examples are bank interest, vendor refunds, and a reimbursement from another campaign for shared expenses.  These funds are deposited in the committee's bank account and reported as an "other receipt" on a C-3 report.

See Contribution Limits for a printable chart.

​Any contribution the committee makes to a candidate or other political committee must be made by written instrument.

These types of expenditures require that special information be supplied:

Independent Expenditures

Include the name of the candidate or ballot measure and whether the expenditure supports or opposes as well as the amount.

Campaign Consultants, Advertising Agencies

Supply a breakdown of each expense incurred by the consultant along with the payment made directly to the consultant.  Each sub-vendor must be disclosed along with a description of the work performed.  

Media Buys

Expenditures for media buys must be broken down by the date the expenditure was made; the date the communication was first broadcast, transmitted, mailed, erected, distributed, or otherwise published; the amount paid; and each media outlet (newspaper, radio or TV station, billboard company, etc.).  

Printing

Supply the name of the vendor, how many pieces were printed and the cost. 

Credit Cards

When reporting payments to credit card companies, disclose each charge that is being paid by the campaign.  Each charge should be entered as a separate expense – show the date, vendor, purpose and amount of each expense.

Reimbursements

When reimbursing volunteers or agents of the committee for out-of-pocket campaign expenses, list each expense being reimbursed by showing the vendor's name and address, what was paid for, and amount paid.

Travel

When reporting direct payments to vendors for campaign-related travel expenses incurred by the agents of the committee, report the date of payment, the vendor's identity, the traveler's name in the description field, and the amount spent.

Payments for Lost Wages

When reporting payments to agents of the committee to offset salaries or wages lost as a result of campaigning, include a description that explains how the amount paid was calculated.

Loans

Each time a loan is received, Part 1 of Schedule L is completed and the schedule is attached to the C-3 showing the loan's deposit.

The Schedule L is also filed with each C-4 report as long as any campaign loans remain outstanding or there is any loan repayment or forgiveness activity to report.  Loan payments are disclosed in Part 2 of the Schedule L.  Any loan forgiveness that occurred during the C-4 reporting period is disclosed in Part 3 of the Schedule L.  An outstanding loan balance is shown in Part 4 of the Schedule L.

Other Debt

Since one of the purposes of campaign disclosure reporting is to show how the campaign dollars are spent, your reports would be incomplete without including those debts the campaign is obligated to pay but, for whatever reason, has not as yet.

In Part 3 of Schedule B, you'll list each order placed (but not paid), debt or other obligation (except loans) of more than $750 when it: 1) has been outstanding for more than five business days in the 30 days before an election, or 2) has been outstanding for more than 10 business days during all other times.

A promise to pay for goods or services or any offer to purchase advertising space, broadcast time or other advertising related product or service is considered an order placed and must be reported on the Schedule B.  Contractual liabilities, even when contingent on a future event, such as a bonus that will be paid if the candidate is elected, must be reported as debt. Regularly recurring expenses of the same amount (such as rent, utilities, insurance, cellular phone costs, and payments to campaign staff) do not have to be reported unless they were past due on the last day of the reporting period.

For each reportable debt, show the date the order was placed or the obligation entered into, the vendor's name and address, the amount owed and the expenditure code that describes the debt or a description of it.  Estimate the cost of an order placed if you have not yet been billed for it.

Debt continues to be reported on each monthly C-4 report until it is paid.

Every penny the committee receives must be deposited into the bank account.  The treasurer may establish a petty cash fund that will be used for small purchases (either direct purchases or to reimburse volunteers of agents of the committee for their out-of-pocket expenditures) by withdrawing funds from the account or cashing a campaign check. Be sure to keep the bank receipt with the campaign records when withdrawing funds.  The amount transferred to the petty cash account is not reported as an expenditure.