2005 PRESS RELEASES

June 09, 2005

Democrats violate law for a second time; agree to pay $187,500 in fees and penalties

OLYMPIA—Today the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) announced that the Washington State Democratic Central Committee (WSDCC) failed to disclose debts and donor information in a timely manner, as required under the law (RCW 42.17.080 and 42.17.090). To avoid further investigation by the state attorney-general, the Democrats agreed to pay fees and penalties totaling $187,500.

$100,000 of that money is re-imposed from a suspended fine from two years ago when they failed to properly disclose $5.9 million spent and received a $250,000 fine.

According to commission staff reports, an independent PDC investigation revealed that Washington State Democrats failed to disclose individual contributor detailed information for $394,544 that was transferred from its federal account to its state non-exempt account. The PDC also asserts that the Democrats failed to disclose (in a timely manner) $704,815 in debts related to 2004 election expenditures.

The agreement reached by the PDC concerning these violations stipulates that the Democrats must pay civil penalties in the amount of $85,000; penalties previously suspended from a prior violation in the amount of $100,000; and attorney fees of $2,500.

“We applaud the PDC for uncovering these violations,” said Bob Williams, president of public advocate Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF).

Williams voiced concerns, however, that the small amount of the fines (less than 7 percent)—and the Democrats’ willingness to accept them in exchange for not disclosing donors until after an election— may represent a serious disregard for both the spirit and intent of the law.

“This slap on the wrist is just the cost of doing business for Democrats,” said Williams. “Violations of this serious nature should be referred to the attorney general for further investigation and appropriate penalties.”

“The Democrats know that they can disregard the law and not divulge the source of funds and outstanding debts until after the election. This is simply unacceptable and denies the voters of this state the free and fair elections they deserve,” Williams continued.

EFF called for the PDC to refer any future investigations to the Attorney General’s office.

Additional Information
Public Disclosure Commission case: Report - Washington State Democratic Central Committee, Case #05-136

RCW 42.17.080 states: “The name and address of any person and the amount owed for any debt, obligation, note, unpaid loan, or other liability in the amount of more than two hundred fifty dollars or in the amount of more than fifty dollars that has been outstanding for over thirty days.” RCW 42.17.090 adds: “…each candidate or political committee shall file with the commission and the county auditor or elections officer of the county in which the candidate resides, or in the case of a political committee, the county in which the treasurer resides… a report of all contributions received and expenditures made prior to that date, if any.”

NOTE:
For Election 2002, Democrats were fined $250,00 for $5.9 million in reporting violations. $100,000 of that fine was suspended.

For Election 2004, Democrats were fined $85,000 for $1.1 million in reporting violations. The $100,000 for the 2000 election that was suspended was re-imposed.

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