OLYMPIA – Government works best when it is open, accessible, and transparent. Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-North Seattle and a board member of the Coalition for Open Government, continues to lead on making government more open at all levels with the introduction and passage of House Bill 1317.
House Bill 1317 addresses the increasingly common, yet untraceable spending by special interests on tv ads, mailings, and digital media to influence legislation. Specially, the legislation required expedited registration from grassroots lobbying campaigns, requires donor information for contributions above a certain amount to grassroots lobbying campaigns, and requires a top five donor disclosure on grassroots lobbying disclosures.
“When it comes to lobbying the government, it needs to happen in a transparent manner that provides accountability,” said Rep. Pollet. “It is important for the public to be able to identify who paid and know that they are being held to the same public disclosure requirements that other lobbyists are.”
Today, the Governor signed into law House Bill 1317. It goes into effect on July 23, 2023.