Campaign finance schedule

AN ACT Relating to making adjustments to the schedule for 1
reporting campaign finance expenditure activity; and amending RCW 2
29B.10.240, 29B.10.390, 29B.25.020, 29B.25.070, 29B.25.090, and 3
29B.25.100. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
Sec. 1. RCW 29B.10.240 and 2024 c 164 s 224 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
"Final report" means the report described as a final report in 8
RCW 29B.25.090(((11))) (10)(a). 9
Sec. 2. RCW 29B.10.390 and 2024 c 164 s 239 are each amended to 10
read as follows: 11
"Participate" means that, with respect to a particular election, 12
an entity: 13
(1) Makes either a monetary or in-kind contribution to a 14
candidate; 15
(2) Makes an independent expenditure , regardless of the monetary 16
value of the expenditure, or electioneering communication in support 17
of or opposition to a candidate; 18
Z-0477.3
SENATE BILL 5840
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators J. Wilson, Valdez, Dozier, and Nobles; by request of
Public Disclosure Commission
Prefiled 12/05/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections.
p. 1 SB 5840
(3) Endorses a candidate before contributions are made by a 1
subsidiary corporation or local unit with respect to that candidate 2
or that candidate's opponent; 3
(4) Makes a recommendation regarding whether a candidate should 4
be supported or opposed before a contribution is made by a subsidiary 5
corporation or local unit with respect to that candidate or that 6
candidate's opponent; ((or))7
(5) Directly or indirectly collaborates or consults with a 8
subsidiary corporation or local unit on matters relating to the 9
support of or opposition to a candidate including, but not limited 10
to, the amount of a contribution, when a contribution should be 11
given, and what assistance, services, or independent expenditures, or 12
electioneering communications, if any, will be made or should be made 13
in support of or opposition to a candidate; or14
(6) Makes an expenditure in support of or opposition to a ballot 15
proposition. 16
Sec. 3. RCW 29B.25.020 and 2024 c 164 s 419 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
(1) Every political committee shall file a statement of 19
organization with the commission. The statement must be filed within 20
two weeks after organization or within two weeks after the date the 21
committee first has the expectation of receiving contributions or 22
making expenditures in any election campaign, whichever is earlier. A 23
political committee organized within the last three weeks before an 24
election and having the expectation of receiving contributions or 25
making expenditures during and for that election campaign shall file 26
a statement of organization within three business days after its 27
organization or when it first has the expectation of receiving 28
contributions or making expenditures in the election campaign.29
(2) The statement of organization shall include but not be 30
limited to: 31
(a) The name, address, and electronic contact information of the 32
committee; 33
(b) The names, addresses, and electronic contact information of 34
all related or affiliated committees or other persons, and the nature 35
of the relationship or affiliation; 36
(c) The names, addresses, and titles of its officers; or if it 37
has no officers, the names, addresses, and titles of its responsible 38
leaders; 39
p. 2 SB 5840
(d) The name, address, and electronic contact information of its 1
treasurer and depository; 2
(e) A statement whether the committee is a continuing one and 3
whether the committee expects to participate in any election campaign 4
for the calendar year in which the statement of organization is 5
filed; 6
(f) The name, office sought, and party affiliation of each 7
candidate whom the committee is supporting or opposing, and, if the 8
committee is supporting the entire ticket of any party, the name of 9
the party; 10
(g) The ballot proposition concerned, if any, and whether the 11
committee is in favor of or opposed to such proposition;12
(h) What distribution of surplus funds will be made, in 13
accordance with RCW 29B.40.090, in the event of dissolution;14
(i) Such other information as the commission may by rule 15
prescribe, in keeping with the policies and purposes of this title;16
(j) The name, address, and title of any person who authorizes 17
expenditures or makes decisions on behalf of the candidate or 18
committee; and 19
(k) The name, address, and title of any person who is paid by or 20
is a volunteer for a candidate or political committee to perform 21
ministerial functions and who performs ministerial functions on 22
behalf of two or more candidates or committees. 23
(3) No two political committees may have the same name.24
(4) ((Any))(a) Except as provided in this subsection, any 25
material change in information previously submitted in a statement of 26
organization shall be reported to the commission within the 10 days 27
following the change. 28
(b) Each political committee must submit a statement to the 29
commission by January 1st of each year to indicate whether or not the 30
committee expects to participate in any election campaign for that 31
year. The statement must include the information required in 32
subsection (2)(f) and (g) of this section for each campaign not 33
previously provided.34
(i) Any change to the statement of participation to indicate the 35
committee is expecting to participate in one or more election 36
campaigns must be made no later than 24 hours of such participation.37
(ii) Any change to the statement of participation to indicate the 38
committee is not expecting to participate in an election campaign for 39
p. 3 SB 5840
the primary or general election may only be made before July 1st of 1
the same year. 2
(5) As used in this section, the "name" of a sponsored committee 3
must include the name of the person who is the sponsor of the 4
committee. If more than one person meets the definition of sponsor, 5
the name of the committee must include the name of at least one 6
sponsor, but may include the names of other sponsors. A person may 7
sponsor only one political committee for the same elected office or 8
same ballot proposition per election cycle. 9
Sec. 4. RCW 29B.25.070 and 2024 c 164 s 424 are each amended to 10
read as follows: 11
(1) In addition to the provisions of this section, a continuing 12
political committee shall file and report on the same conditions and 13
at the same times as any other committee in accordance with the 14
provisions of RCW 29B.25.020, 29B.25.040, ((and)) 29B.25.060, and 15
29B.25.090. 16
(2) ((A continuing political committee shall file with the 17
commission a report on the tenth day of each month detailing 18
expenditures made and contributions received for the preceding 19
calendar month. This report need only be filed if either the total 20
contributions received or total expenditures made since the last such 21
report exceed two hundred dollars. The report shall be on a form 22
supplied by the commission and shall include the following 23
information:24
(a) The information required by RCW 29B.25.100;25
(b) Each expenditure made to retire previously accumulated debts 26
of the committee identified by recipient, amount, and date of 27
payments;28
(c) Other information the commission shall prescribe by rule.29
(3) If a continuing political committee makes a contribution in 30
support of or in opposition to a candidate or ballot proposition 31
within 60 days before the date that the candidate or ballot 32
proposition will be voted upon, the committee shall report pursuant 33
to RCW 29B.25.090.34
(4)))(a) A continuing political committee shall file reports as 35
required by this title until the committee has ceased to function and 36
intends to dissolve, at which time, when there is no outstanding debt 37
or obligation and the committee is concluded in all respects, a final 38
report shall be filed. Upon submitting a final report, the continuing 39
p. 4 SB 5840
political committee so intending to dissolve must file notice of 1
intent to dissolve with the commission and the commission must post 2
the notice on its website. 3
(b) The continuing political committee may dissolve 60 days after 4
it files its notice to dissolve, only if: 5
(i) The continuing political committee does not make any 6
expenditures other than those related to the dissolution process or 7
engage in any political activity or any other activities that 8
generate additional reporting requirements under this title after 9
filing such notice; 10
(ii) No complaint or court action, pursuant to this title, is 11
pending against the continuing political committee; and12
(iii) All penalties assessed by the commission or court order 13
have been paid by the continuing political committee.14
(c) The continuing political committee must continue to report 15
regularly as required under this title until all the conditions under 16
(b) of this subsection are resolved. 17
(d) Upon dissolution, the commission must issue an acknowledgment 18
of dissolution, the duties of the treasurer shall cease, and there 19
shall be no further obligations under this title. Dissolution does 20
not absolve the candidate or board of the committee from 21
responsibility for any future obligations resulting from the finding 22
after dissolution of a violation committed prior to dissolution.23
(((5))) (3) The treasurer shall maintain books of account, 24
current within five business days, that accurately reflect all 25
contributions and expenditures. During the 10 calendar days 26
immediately preceding the date of any election that the committee has 27
received any contributions or made any expenditures, the books of 28
account shall be kept current within one business day and shall be 29
open for public inspection in the same manner as provided for 30
candidates and other political committees in RCW 29B.25.090(((6))) 31
(5). 32
(((6))) (4) All reports filed pursuant to this section shall be 33
certified as correct by the treasurer. 34
(((7))) (5) The treasurer shall preserve books of account, bills, 35
receipts, and all other financial records of the campaign or 36
political committee for not less than five calendar years following 37
the year during which the transaction occurred. 38
p. 5 SB 5840
Sec. 5. RCW 29B.25.090 and 2024 c 164 s 426 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1)(a) In addition to the information required under RCW 3
29B.25.020 and 29B.25.040, each candidate or political committee must 4
file with the commission a report of all contributions received and 5
expenditures made as a political committee on the next reporting date 6
pursuant to the timeline established in this section.7
(b) In addition to the information required under RCW 29B.25.030 8
and 29B.25.040, on the day an incidental committee files a statement 9
of organization with the commission, each incidental committee must 10
file with the commission a report of any election campaign 11
expenditures under RCW 29B.25.100(7), as well as the source of the 10 12
largest cumulative payments of ten thousand dollars or greater it 13
received in the current calendar year from a single person, including 14
any persons tied as the 10th largest source of payments it received, 15
if any. 16
(2)(a) Each treasurer of a candidate or political committee, or 17
an incidental committee, required to file a statement of organization 18
under this title, shall file with the commission a report ((, for each 19
election in which a candidate, political committee, or incidental 20
committee is participating, )) containing the information required by 21
RCW 29B.25.100 ((at the following intervals:22
(a) On the 21st day and the seventh day immediately preceding the 23
date on which the election is held; and24
(b) On the 10th day of the first full month after the election )) 25
on the 10th day of each month of the year. 26
(b) In addition to the reporting dates under (a) of this 27
subsection, the following shall file with the commission a report 28
containing the information required by RCW 29B.25.100 on the 25th day 29
of each month beginning in July through October of the same year:30
(i) Each treasurer of a candidate in the primary or general 31
election of that year;32
(ii) Each treasurer of a political committee expecting to 33
participate in the primary or general election of that year, as 34
required in the statement of participation, pursuant to RCW 35
29B.25.020; and36
(iii) Each incidental committee.37
(c) Any political committee that has not changed its statement of 38
participation before July 1st of the same year to indicate the 39
committee is not expecting to participate in an election campaign for 40
p. 6 SB 5840
the primary or general election must report pursuant to (b) of this 1
subsection. 2
(3)(a) ((Each treasurer of a candidate or political committee 3
shall file with the commission a report on the 10th day of each month 4
during which the candidate or political committee is not 5
participating in an election campaign, only if the committee has 6
received a contribution or made an expenditure in the preceding 7
calendar month and either the total contributions received or total 8
expenditures made since the last such report exceed two hundred 9
dollars.10
(b) Each incidental committee shall file with the commission a 11
report on the 10th day of each month during which the incidental 12
committee is not otherwise required to report under this section only 13
if the committee has:14
(i) Received a payment that would change the information required 15
under RCW 29B.25.100(2)(d) as included in its last report; or16
(ii) Made any election campaign expenditure reportable under RCW 17
29B.25.100(7) since its last report, and the total election campaign 18
expenditures made since the last report exceed two hundred dollars.19
(4) The report filed 21 days before the election shall report all 20
contributions received and expenditures made as of the end of one 21
business day before the date of the report. The report filed seven 22
days before the election shall report all contributions received and 23
expenditures made as of the end of one business day before the date 24
of the report.)) Reports filed on the 10th day of the month ((shall)) 25
under subsection (2) of this section must report all contributions 26
received and expenditures made from the closing date of the last 27
report filed through the last day of the month preceding the date of 28
the current report , except the reports filed in the months of July 29
through October must report all contributions received and 30
expenditures made through the end of two business days before the 31
date of the report. 32
(b) Reports filed on the 25th day of the month under subsection 33
(2)(b) of this section must report all contributions received and 34
expenditures made from the closing date of the last report filed 35
through the end of two business days before the date of the report.36
(((5))) (4) For the period beginning the first day of the fourth 37
month preceding the date of the special election, or for the period 38
beginning the first day of the fifth month before the date of the 39
general election, and ending on the date of that special or general 40
p. 7 SB 5840
election, each Monday the treasurer for a candidate or a political 1
committee shall file with the commission a report of each bank 2
deposit made during the previous seven calendar days. The report 3
shall contain the name of each person contributing the funds and the 4
amount contributed by each person. However, persons who contribute no 5
more than twenty-five dollars in the aggregate are not required to be 6
identified in the report. A copy of the report shall be retained by 7
the treasurer for the treasurer's records. In the event of deposits 8
made by candidates, political committee members, or paid staff other 9
than the treasurer, the copy shall be immediately provided to the 10
treasurer for the treasurer's records. Each report shall be certified 11
as correct by the treasurer. 12
(((6))) (5)(a) The treasurer for a candidate or a political 13
committee shall maintain books of account accurately reflecting all 14
contributions and expenditures on a current basis within five 15
business days of receipt or expenditure. During the 10 calendar days 16
immediately preceding the date of the election the books of account 17
shall be kept current within one business day. As specified in the 18
political committee's statement of organization filed under RCW 19
29B.25.020, the books of account must be open for public inspection 20
by appointment at a place agreed upon by both the treasurer and the 21
requestor, for inspections between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on any day 22
from the 10th calendar day immediately before the election through 23
the day immediately before the election, other than Saturday, Sunday, 24
or a legal holiday. It is a violation of this title for a candidate 25
or political committee to refuse to allow and keep an appointment for 26
an inspection to be conducted during these authorized times and days. 27
The appointment must be allowed at an authorized time and day for 28
such inspections that is within 48 hours of the time and day that is 29
requested for the inspection. The treasurer may provide digital 30
access or copies of the books of account in lieu of scheduling an 31
appointment at a designated place for inspection. If the treasurer 32
and requestor are unable to agree on a location and the treasurer has 33
not provided digital access to the books of account, the default 34
location for an appointment shall be a place of public accommodation 35
selected by the treasurer within a reasonable distance from the 36
treasurer's office. 37
(b) At the time of making the appointment, a person wishing to 38
inspect the books of account must provide the treasurer the name and 39
telephone number of the person wishing to inspect the books of 40
p. 8 SB 5840
account. The person inspecting the books of account must show photo 1
identification before the inspection begins. 2
(c) A treasurer may refuse to show the books of account to any 3
person who does not make an appointment or provide the required 4
identification. The commission may issue limited rules to modify the 5
requirements set forth in this section in consideration of other 6
technology and best practices. 7
(((7))) (6) Copies of all reports filed pursuant to this section 8
shall be readily available for public inspection by appointment, 9
pursuant to subsection (((6))) (5) of this section.10
(((8))) (7) The treasurer or candidate shall preserve books of 11
account, bills, receipts, and all other financial records of the 12
campaign or political committee for not less than five calendar years 13
following the year during which the transaction occurred or for any 14
longer period as otherwise required by law. 15
(((9))) (8) All reports filed pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) 16
of this section shall be certified as correct by the candidate and 17
the treasurer. 18
(((10))) (9) Where there is not a pending complaint concerning a 19
report, it is not evidence of a violation of this section to submit 20
an amended report within 21 days of filing an initial report if:21
(a) The report is accurately amended; 22
(b) The amended report is filed more than 30 days before an 23
election; 24
(c) The total aggregate dollar amount of the adjustment for the 25
amended report is within three times the contribution limit per 26
election or two hundred dollars, whichever is greater; and27
(d) The committee reported all information that was available to 28
it at the time of filing, or made a good faith effort to do so, or if 29
a refund of a contribution or expenditure is being reported.30
(((11))) (10)(a) When there is no outstanding debt or obligation, 31
the campaign fund is closed, the campaign is concluded in all 32
respects, and the political committee has ceased to function and 33
intends to dissolve, the treasurer shall file a final report. Upon 34
submitting a final report, the political committee so intending to 35
dissolve must file notice of intent to dissolve with the commission 36
and the commission must post the notice on its website.37
(b) Any political committee may dissolve 60 days after it files 38
its notice to dissolve, only if: 39
p. 9 SB 5840
(i) The political committee does not make any expenditures other 1
than those related to the dissolution process or engage in any 2
political activity or any other activities that generate additional 3
reporting requirements under this title after filing such notice;4
(ii) No complaint or court action under this title is pending 5
against the political committee; and 6
(iii) All penalties assessed by the commission or court order 7
have been paid by the political committee. 8
(c) The political committee must continue to report regularly as 9
required under this title until all the conditions under (b) of this 10
subsection are resolved. 11
(d) Upon dissolution, the commission must issue an acknowledgment 12
of dissolution, the duties of the treasurer shall cease, and there 13
shall be no further obligations under this title. Dissolution does 14
not absolve the candidate or board of the committee from 15
responsibility for any future obligations resulting from the finding 16
after dissolution of a violation committed prior to dissolution.17
(((12))) (11) The commission must adopt rules for the dissolution 18
of incidental committees. 19
Sec. 6. RCW 29B.25.100 and 2024 c 164 s 427 are each amended to 20
read as follows: 21
Each report required under RCW 29B.25.090 (1) ((through (4))) and 22
(2) must be certified as correct by the treasurer and the candidate 23
and shall disclose the following, except an incidental committee only 24
must disclose and certify as correct the information required under 25
subsections (2)(d) and (7) of this section: 26
(1) The funds on hand at the beginning of the period;27
(2) The name and address of each person who has made one or more 28
contributions during the period, together with the money value and 29
date of each contribution and the aggregate value of all 30
contributions received from each person during the campaign, or in 31
the case of a continuing political committee, the current calendar 32
year, with the following exceptions: 33
(a) Pledges in the aggregate of less than one hundred dollars 34
from any one person need not be reported; 35
(b) Income that results from a fund-raising activity conducted in 36
accordance with RCW 29B.25.080 may be reported as one lump sum, with 37
the exception of that portion received from persons whose names and 38
p. 10 SB 5840
addresses are required to be included in the report required by RCW 1
29B.25.080; 2
(c) Contributions of no more than twenty-five dollars in the 3
aggregate from any one person during the election campaign may be 4
reported as one lump sum if the treasurer maintains a separate and 5
private list of the name, address, and amount of each such 6
contributor; 7
(d) Payments received by an incidental committee from any one 8
person need not be reported unless the person is one of the 9
committee's 10 largest sources of payments received, including any 10
persons tied as the 10th largest source of payments received, during 11
the current calendar year, and the value of the cumulative payments 12
received from that person during the current calendar year is ten 13
thousand dollars or greater. For payments to incidental committees 14
from multiple persons received in aggregated form, any payment of 15
more than ten thousand dollars from any single person must be 16
reported, but the aggregated payment itself may not be reported. The 17
commission may suspend or modify reporting requirements for payments 18
received by an incidental committee in cases of manifestly 19
unreasonable hardship under this title; 20
(e) Payments from private foundations organized under section 21
501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code to an incidental committee do 22
not have to be reported if: 23
(i) The private foundation is contracting with the incidental 24
committee for a specific purpose other than election campaign 25
purposes; 26
(ii) Use of the funds for election campaign purposes is 27
explicitly prohibited by contract; and 28
(iii) Funding from the private foundation represents less than 25 29
percent of the incidental committee's total budget;30
(f) Commentary or analysis on a ballot proposition by an 31
incidental committee is not considered a contribution if it does not 32
advocate specifically to vote for or against the ballot proposition; 33
and 34
(g) The money value of contributions of postage is the face value 35
of the postage; 36
(3) Each loan, promissory note, or security instrument to be used 37
by or for the benefit of the candidate or political committee made by 38
any person, including the names and addresses of the lender and each 39
p. 11 SB 5840
person liable directly, indirectly or contingently and the date and 1
amount of each such loan, promissory note, or security instrument;2
(4) All other contributions not otherwise listed or exempted;3
(5) A statement that the candidate or political committee has 4
received a certification from any partnership, association, 5
corporation, organization, or other combination of persons making a 6
contribution to the candidate or political committee that:7
(a) The contribution is not financed in any part by a foreign 8
national; and 9
(b) Foreign nationals are not involved in making decisions 10
regarding the contribution in any way; 11
(6) The name and address of each candidate or political committee 12
to which any transfer of funds was made, including the amounts and 13
dates of the transfers; 14
(7) The name and address of each person to whom an expenditure 15
was made in the aggregate amount of more than fifty dollars during 16
the period covered by this report, the amount, date, and purpose of 17
each expenditure, and the total sum of all expenditures. An 18
incidental committee only must report on expenditures, made and 19
reportable as contributions as defined in RCW 29B.10.160, to election 20
campaigns. For purposes of this subsection, commentary or analysis on 21
a ballot proposition by an incidental committee is not considered an 22
expenditure if it does not advocate specifically to vote for or 23
against the ballot proposition; 24
(8) The name, address, and electronic contact information of each 25
person to whom an expenditure was made for soliciting or procuring 26
signatures on an initiative or referendum petition, the amount of the 27
compensation to each person, and the total expenditures made for this 28
purpose. Such expenditures shall be reported under this subsection in 29
addition to what is required to be reported under subsection (7) of 30
this section; 31
(9)(a) The name and address of any person and the amount owed for 32
any debt with a value of more than seven hundred fifty dollars that 33
has not been paid for any invoices submitted, goods received, or 34
services performed, within five business days during the period 35
within 30 days before an election, or within 10 business days during 36
any other period. 37
(b) For purposes of this subsection, debt does not include 38
regularly recurring expenditures of the same amount that have already 39
been reported at least once and that are not late or outstanding;40
p. 12 SB 5840
(10) The surplus or deficit of contributions over expenditures;1
(11) The disposition made in accordance with RCW 29B.40.090 of 2
any surplus funds; and 3
(12) Any other information required by the commission by rule in 4
conformance with the policies and purposes of this title.5
--- END ---
p. 13 SB 5840