State fines PAC $20K for initiative campaign violations

The state’s Public Disclosure Commission issued a fine of $20,000 Oct. 9, half of it suspended on certain conditions, finding political action committee Let’s Go Washington violated state campaign finance laws.

The PDC found that LGW failed to report subcontractors used by signature-gathering firms and failed to produce campaign records when requested by PDC.

The decision and order includes: “LGW has an obligation to inquire and confirm whether its contractors have used subcontractors. Failing to ask or failing to follow up on a contractor’s non-response or refusal to provide the information is insufficient. If this were the standard, any committee could simply ignore the issue and argue it has no knowledge of its contractor’s actions and nothing to report.”

The case was heard at a special meeting on Oct. 3. The Commission can issue fines of up to $10,000 for each violation.

Let’s Go Washington is a political action committee that formed in 2022 to back several initiatives to the Legislature. Three of the initiatives were accepted by the Legislature and became law and three are now on the November election ballot.

The PDC opened a case against LGW in July 2023, after receiving a complaint. Staff added a second and third complaint.

In September, the PDC filed administrative charges against Let’s Go Washington. PDC staff alleged that Let’s Go Washington failed to report, as required by law, when its signature gathering vendors used subcontractors. Staff also alleged that Let’s Go Washington did not keep complete campaign records on these activities and did not turn over its campaign books upon request, as required, until the PDC issued a subpoena for the records.

PDC staff also alleged in the charges that Let’s Go Washington initially failed to denote in its expenditure reports how much funding went to signature gathering for each of the initiatives it supported and, rather, reported a lump sum for its signature gathering effort as a whole. The Committee eventually filed amended reports attributing its expenditures equally across the six initiatives. While PDC staff argued that a more precise breakdown was required, the Commission held that the reporting satisfied PDC rules that were then in effect.

Representatives for Let’s Go Washington argued that the charges should be dismissed, arguing that it followed the letter of the law in how it reported expenditures and kept records and that it did not agree with PDC staff’s interpretation of the laws in question.

Source: PDC