Stricter campaign finance and lobbying rules and ending sales tax exemption up for vote in I-1464
Washington voters who are tired of the current state of politics and elections get a chance to make significant changes with the November election.
They could make the most significant revision to state campaign finance laws in decades, and create a system that would let them send up to $150 every other year to the political candidates of their choosing without spending anything out of their own pocket.
They could also require more information about who’s paying for the political ads that bombard them during campaign season, limit the amount of money lobbyists can give to candidates and force elected officials and senior staff to wait three years before signing up to lobby their old colleagues.
All these changes are wrapped into Initiative 1464, one of nine ballot measures on top of the Nov. 8 ballot.
Although state initiatives are limited to a single subject, Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, the prime sponsor, said wide-ranging I-1464 meets that rule under the heading of preventing corruption and returning accountability to the people.
Stuckart said he has long been interested in stricter campaign finance laws, but the need was underscored during his first council president campaign when a lobbyist called and offered him an $8,000 contribution if he would “change his mind” on the Spokane Tribe’s proposed casino and development project on the West Plains. He said he wouldn’t and the money didn’t come.
Even without strings, large donations can “put a question mark on all of my decision-making,” he said. When a longtime friend called him about supporting the initiative, Stuckart signed up.
But opponents contend I-1464 would use tax dollars to benefit politicians while the state remains under a court order to put more money toward basic education. Its voucher system would give voters three $50 “democracy credits” that they can use in state races every two years. The name of the person sending the credit would be reported to the Public Disclosure Commission.
To pay for the statewide system, the measure would repeal the non-resident sales tax exemption for residents of sales-tax-free states like Oregon and Montana who shop in Washington.
That sales tax exemption is often on lists Democratic governors and legislators have proposed in recent years as ways to generate more money for public schools or other state programs. So far it has survived with the help of the overall objection many Republicans have to any tax increase and heavy lobbying from some business organizations in border communities that fear a loss of sales to out-of-state or Canadian shoppers.
Initiative opponents assert the measure will hurt tourism and small businesses that benefit from out-of-state shoppers who use the no-sales-tax perk while shopping in Washington.
“It’s going to make things more political, it’s going to take taxpayer dollars and divert it to politics rather than services,” said Yvette Ollada, a spokeswoman for the “No on Initiative 1464” campaign.
Although Spokane business groups have fought to keep the exemption, Stuckart said he doesn’t believe removing it will have a dramatic effect on local retailers.
“We’re still the hub,” he said. “I think Spokane’s economy is strong enough that people will still come there.”
To be eligible to redeem the vouchers, participating political candidates would have to pledge to limit self-financing, as well as the size of donations they accept.
Seattle voters passed a similar citywide measure last year. They agreed to raise taxes by $3 million a year to get four $25 vouchers they can sign over to candidates, starting with the 2017 council and city attorney elections.
I-1464 also would impose tougher donor disclosure requirements on political ads and limit the amount of money government contractors and lobbyists can contribute to candidates. Additionally, it would impose a three-year waiting period before former elected officials and senior staff can lobby their previous employers and colleagues.
An August survey by an independent pollster found that 43 percent of voters were undecided on the measure, with just 34 percent in support. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed were opposed. A fiscal impact statement prepared by the Office of Financial Management found that the measure would cost about $171.5 million in its first six years of taking effect, with about $165 million of that new revenue from the repeal of the tax exemption being moved to a new account to pay for the publicly funded voucher system for campaign contributions.
Voters approved public disclosure of campaign finances, lobbyist activity, financial affairs of elective officers and candidates as part of Initiative 276 in 1972. Two decades later, they passed Initiative 134, which limited contributions and had other campaign restrictions.
Among the many changes I-1464 seeks are stricter penalties and updated fines that were set with I-276 but not indexed to inflation and have never been increased. The maximum fine for violations would go from $10,000 to $50,000, with fines adjusted for inflation in the future. The measure also makes it illegal to use campaign contributions to pay fines or other penalties.
Integrity Washington, the campaign in support of the measure, has raised $1.9 million, with some $1.2 million of it coming from out-of-state donors. It has already spent more than $1.7 million, including the $1 million it spent on signature-gathering to qualify for the ballot.
The No On 1464 campaign so far has raised just $20,000, half from the Washington Food Industry and half from the Associated General Contractors, but had listed expenses of only about $35 through the end of August in its most recent report.