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.

During the 21 days before the general election, no candidate for statewide office may accept aggregate contributions of more than $75,000 from any contributor eligible to give that amount. Similarly, candidates for other offices and political committees may not accept contributions totaling more than $7,500 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.

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.

Sponsor identification requirements for political advertising are determined by who the sponsor is and what kind of ad is running. We will take you through those requirements.

Determining who is the sponsor

The sponsor of a political ad — the 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. 

No legislators, other state officials or their employees or agents may solicit or accept contributions for any state or local office candidate, to defray public office related expenses, or to retire a campaign debt during what is known as the "legislative session freeze period."  The freeze period is in effect during the regular legislative session, the 30 days before the regular session and during any special session of the legislature.  RCW 42.17A.560. 

Political advertising definition

Political advertising must meet certain standards under state law. We've collected information that candidates, political committees, and others need to know.

First, let's explain what kind of advertising is covered: