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Committee sends bill to floor requiring party affiliation on many campaign materials
Summary
House Bill 359 would require candidates to disclose party affiliation on campaign materials such as signs and mailers; the committee sent the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation by voice vote.
The House State Affairs Committee voted to send House Bill 359 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Healy, sponsor of HB359, told the committee the bill would require candidates to display party affiliation on campaign signage and communications, with limited exemptions for small items like buttons and unpaid social media posts.
Healy said the requirement would apply to signs and mailers and would ask candidates to list party names such as Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian or Constitution. The sponsor said the intent is to increase transparency and help voters know a candidate’s affiliation when viewing campaign materials.
Questions during the hearing were light and partly jocular: Representative Pohanka joked about using a party symbol on a sign, and Representative Skog asked whether ties worn by committee members would be exempt. Healy said the bill is narrowly tailored and excludes items such as buttons, bumper stickers and unpaid social-media posts; newspaper and certain other communications are also exempt.
Committee action: Representative Jaren Crane moved to send HB359 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motion carried by voice vote.
What’s next: HB359 will move to the full House for further consideration.
