PDC enforcement actions

AN ACT Relating to enforcement actions by the public disclosure 1
commission; amending RCW 42.17A.755 and 29B.60.020; providing an 2
effective date; and providing an expiration date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 42.17A.755 and 2019 c 428 s 38 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) The commission may initiate or respond to a complaint, 7
request a technical correction, or otherwise resolve matters of 8
compliance with this chapter, in accordance with this section. The 9
commission and the executive director may not consider the partisan 10
affiliation of a respondent, if any, when determining the appropriate 11
resolution of a matter pursuant to this section. If a complaint is 12
filed with or initiated by the commission, the commission must:13
(a) Dismiss the complaint or otherwise resolve the matter in 14
accordance with subsection (2) of this section, as appropriate under 15
the circumstances after conducting a preliminary review;16
(b) Initiate an investigation to determine whether a violation 17
has occurred, conduct hearings, and issue and enforce an appropriate 18
order, in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW and subsection (3) of 19
this section; or 20
H-0948.1
HOUSE BILL 1781
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Marshall, Barkis, and Dufault
Read first time 02/03/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 1781
(c) Refer the matter to the attorney general, in accordance with 1
subsection (4) of this section. 2
(2)(a) For complaints of remediable violations or requests for 3
technical corrections, the commission may, by rule, delegate 4
authority to its executive director to resolve these matters in 5
accordance with subsection (1)(a) of this section, provided the 6
executive director consistently applies such authority. The executive 7
director shall use the scoring system developed by the commission by 8
rule pursuant to subsection (3) of this section when resolving these 9
matters.10
(b) The commission shall, by rule, develop additional processes 11
by which a respondent may agree by stipulation to any allegations and 12
pay a penalty subject to a schedule of violations and penalties, 13
unless waived by the commission as provided for in this section. Any 14
stipulation must be referred to the commission for review. If 15
approved or modified by the commission, agreed to by the parties, and 16
the respondent complies with all requirements set forth in the 17
stipulation, the matter is then considered resolved and no further 18
action or review is allowed. 19
(3) If the commission initiates an investigation, an initial 20
hearing must be held within ninety days of the complaint being filed. 21
Following an investigation, in cases where it chooses to determine 22
whether a violation has occurred, the commission shall hold a hearing 23
pursuant to the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. Any 24
order that the commission issues under this section shall be pursuant 25
to such a hearing. 26
(a) The person against whom an order is directed under this 27
section shall be designated as the respondent. The order may require 28
the respondent to cease and desist from the activity that constitutes 29
a violation and in addition, or alternatively, may impose one or more 30
of the remedies provided in RCW 42.17A.750(1) (b) through (h), or 31
other requirements as the commission determines appropriate to 32
effectuate the purposes of this chapter. 33
(b) The commission may assess a penalty in an amount not to 34
exceed ten thousand dollars per violation, unless the parties 35
stipulate otherwise. Any order that the commission issues under this 36
section that imposes a financial penalty must be made pursuant to a 37
hearing, held in accordance with the administrative procedure act, 38
chapter 34.05 RCW. 39
p. 2 HB 1781
(c)(i) The commission has the authority to waive a penalty for a 1
first-time violation. A second violation of the same requirement by 2
the same person, regardless if the person or individual committed the 3
violation for a different political committee or incidental 4
committee, shall result in a penalty. Successive violations of the 5
same requirement shall result in successively increased penalties. 6
The commission may suspend any portion of an assessed penalty 7
contingent on future compliance with this chapter. The commission 8
must create a schedule to enhance penalties based on repeat 9
violations by the person. Penalties for violations that are not 10
remediable violations or requests for technical corrections may not 11
be waived without the unanimous approval of the commission. The 12
authority of the commission to waive penalties must be consistently 13
applied. The commission shall use the scoring system developed 14
pursuant to (c)(ii) of this subsection when determining whether to 15
waive penalties.16
(ii) The commission, by rule, shall develop a scoring system 17
consisting of objective criteria for determining situations in which 18
complaints may be dismissed with a waiver of penalties. The scoring 19
system may not take into account the political affiliation of the 20
respondent.21
(d) Any order issued by the commission is subject to judicial 22
review under the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. If 23
the commission's order is not satisfied and no petition for review is 24
filed within thirty days, the commission may petition a court of 25
competent jurisdiction of any county in which a petition for review 26
could be filed under that jurisdiction, for an order of enforcement. 27
Proceedings in connection with the commission's petition shall be in 28
accordance with RCW 42.17A.760. 29
(4) In lieu of holding a hearing or issuing an order under this 30
section, the commission may refer the matter to the attorney general 31
consistent with this section, when the commission believes:32
(a) Additional authority is needed to ensure full compliance with 33
this chapter; 34
(b) An apparent violation potentially warrants a penalty greater 35
than the commission's penalty authority; or 36
(c) The maximum penalty the commission is able to levy is not 37
enough to address the severity of the violation. 38
(5) Prior to filing a citizen's action under RCW 42.17A.775, a 39
person who has filed a complaint pursuant to this section must 40
p. 3 HB 1781
provide written notice to the attorney general if the commission does 1
not, within ((90 [ninety])) 90 days of the complaint being filed with 2
the commission, take action pursuant to subsection (1) of this 3
section. A person must simultaneously provide a copy of the written 4
notice to the commission. 5
Sec. 2. RCW 29B.60.020 and 2024 c 164 s 491 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) The commission may initiate or respond to a complaint, 8
request a technical correction, or otherwise resolve matters of 9
compliance with this title, in accordance with this section. The 10
commission and the executive director may not consider the partisan 11
affiliation of a respondent, if any, when determining the appropriate 12
resolution of a matter pursuant to this section. If a complaint is 13
filed with or initiated by the commission, the commission must:14
(a) Dismiss the complaint or otherwise resolve the matter in 15
accordance with subsection (2) of this section, as appropriate under 16
the circumstances after conducting a preliminary review;17
(b) Initiate an investigation to determine whether a violation 18
has occurred, conduct hearings, and issue and enforce an appropriate 19
order, in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW and subsection (3) of 20
this section; or 21
(c) Refer the matter to the attorney general, in accordance with 22
subsection (4) of this section. 23
(2)(a) For complaints of remediable violations or requests for 24
technical corrections, the commission may, by rule, delegate 25
authority to its executive director to resolve these matters in 26
accordance with subsection (1)(a) of this section, provided the 27
executive director consistently applies such authority. The executive 28
director shall use the scoring system developed by the commission by 29
rule pursuant to subsection (3) of this section when resolving these 30
matters.31
(b) The commission shall, by rule, develop additional processes 32
by which a respondent may agree by stipulation to any allegations and 33
pay a penalty subject to a schedule of violations and penalties, 34
unless waived by the commission as provided for in this section. Any 35
stipulation must be referred to the commission for review. If 36
approved or modified by the commission, agreed to by the parties, and 37
the respondent complies with all requirements set forth in the 38
p. 4 HB 1781
stipulation, the matter is then considered resolved and no further 1
action or review is allowed. 2
(3) If the commission initiates an investigation, an initial 3
hearing must be held within 90 days of the complaint being filed. 4
Following an investigation, in cases where it chooses to determine 5
whether a violation has occurred, the commission shall hold a hearing 6
pursuant to the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. Any 7
order that the commission issues under this section shall be pursuant 8
to such a hearing. 9
(a) The person against whom an order is directed under this 10
section shall be designated as the respondent. The order may require 11
the respondent to cease and desist from the activity that constitutes 12
a violation and in addition, or alternatively, may impose one or more 13
of the remedies provided in RCW 29B.60.010(1) (b) through (h), or 14
other requirements as the commission determines appropriate to 15
effectuate the purposes of this title. 16
(b) The commission may assess a penalty in an amount not to 17
exceed ten thousand dollars per violation, unless the parties 18
stipulate otherwise. Any order that the commission issues under this 19
section that imposes a financial penalty must be made pursuant to a 20
hearing, held in accordance with the administrative procedure act, 21
chapter 34.05 RCW. 22
(c)(i) The commission has the authority to waive a penalty for a 23
first-time violation. A second violation of the same requirement by 24
the same person, regardless if the person or individual committed the 25
violation for a different political committee or incidental 26
committee, shall result in a penalty. Successive violations of the 27
same requirement shall result in successively increased penalties. 28
The commission may suspend any portion of an assessed penalty 29
contingent on future compliance with this title. The commission must 30
create a schedule to enhance penalties based on repeat violations by 31
the person. Penalties for violations that are not remediable 32
violations or requests for technical corrections may not be waived 33
without the unanimous approval of the commission. The authority of 34
the commission to waive penalties must be consistently applied. The 35
commission shall use the scoring system developed pursuant to (c)(ii) 36
of this subsection when determining whether to waive penalties.37
(ii) The commission, by rule, shall develop a scoring system 38
consisting of objective criteria for determining situations in which 39
complaints may be dismissed with a waiver of penalties. The scoring 40
p. 5 HB 1781
system may not take into account the political affiliation of the 1
respondent. 2
(d) Any order issued by the commission is subject to judicial 3
review under the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. If 4
the commission's order is not satisfied and no petition for review is 5
filed within 30 days, the commission may petition a court of 6
competent jurisdiction of any county in which a petition for review 7
could be filed under that jurisdiction, for an order of enforcement. 8
Proceedings in connection with the commission's petition shall be in 9
accordance with RCW 29B.60.030. 10
(4) In lieu of holding a hearing or issuing an order under this 11
section, the commission may refer the matter to the attorney general 12
consistent with this section, when the commission believes:13
(a) Additional authority is needed to ensure full compliance with 14
this title; 15
(b) An apparent violation potentially warrants a penalty greater 16
than the commission's penalty authority; or 17
(c) The maximum penalty the commission is able to levy is not 18
enough to address the severity of the violation. 19
(5) Prior to filing a citizen's action under RCW 29B.60.060, a 20
person who has filed a complaint pursuant to this section must 21
provide written notice to the attorney general if the commission does 22
not, within 90 days of the complaint being filed with the commission, 23
take action pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. A person must 24
simultaneously provide a copy of the written notice to the 25
commission. 26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Section 1 of this act expires January 1, 27
2026.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Section 2 of this act takes effect January 29
1, 2026.30
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p. 6 HB 1781