Liberal think tank in Seattle ordered to pay $30000-plus in campaign-disclosure fines – Seattle Times

The Washington Budget & Policy Center has agreed to pay more than $30,000 in relation to violations of state campaign-disclosure law, according to the state Attorney Generals Office. The action stems from a complaint by the right-leaning Freedom Foundation.

Seattle Times Olympia bureau

OLYMPIA The Washington Budget & Policy Center has agreed to pay about $30,000 in relation to violations of state campaign-disclosure law, according to the state Attorney Generals Office.

The center didnt properly report independent expenditures that it made while opposing Initiative 1366, according to court records detailing the settlement.

Voters in 2015 approved I-1366, a Tim Eyman-sponsored, anti-tax proposal.

But a court tossed the initiative a few months later.

Under a Thurston County Superior Court judgment, the center, a liberal think tank based in Seattle, received $33,510 in penalties.

Half of that is suspended for four years, however, as long as the center doesnt commit any other campaign-finance violations during that time.

The court also ordered the center to pay $13,790 in attorney fees and court and investigation costs, according to a statement by the Attorney Generals Office.

The action stems from a complaint filed by the right-leaning Freedom Foundation, according to Misha Werschkul, executive director for the center.

We are committed to tracking and disclosing all reportable activities and we have taken action to update our internal policies and practices for campaign reporting, Werschkul wrote in an email.

The settlement comes as the Attorney Generals Office takes action on another Freedom Foundation complaint. The office last week announced a lawsuit against SEIU 14 over alleged campaign-finance violations.

The office determined the union made significant campaign contributions but failed to register and report as a political committee in at least 2014 and 2016, according to a statement released last week.

That lawsuit marks the seventh time in less than two years Freedom Foundation complaints have led to legal action and/or penalties against government unions or their allies for violating state campaign finance laws, according to a Freedom Foundation statement.

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Liberal think tank in Seattle ordered to pay $30000-plus in campaign-disclosure fines - Seattle Times