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House passes bill setting $6,000 threshold for foreign‑national certification; critics say initiative process could be affected
Summary
Substitute House Bill 21 23 passed the House on Jan. 29 by a reported 68–29 after floor debate in which sponsors described a $6,000 threshold to limit burdensome foreign‑national certification requirements; opponents warned the change weakens protections and could restrict the initiative process.
The Washington State House passed substitute House Bill 21 23 on third reading, establishing a $6,000 threshold that sponsors said would limit when foreign‑national certification requirements apply to campaign contributions. The clerk reported the final roll call as 68 yays, 29 nays and 1 excused; the bill was declared passed.
Representative Fitzgibbon (34th District), who rose on the floor to request support, said the statute passed years earlier imposed heavy record‑keeping burdens on those running for office and that the substitute bill would ease that burden by applying certification requirements only to contributions over $6,000. She said initiative campaigns over that amount would still be required to keep records because federal law does not cover initiative campaigns.
Representative Corey (15th District) and others echoed support, saying the change strikes a balance between preventing foreign influence and avoiding onerous requirements for most candidate campaigns.
Representative Walsh (19th District) opposed the bill, calling it "a bad bill" and "a half measure," urging colleagues to vote no and arguing the proposal leaves a failed prior policy partially in place while constraining initiative campaign rules. Walsh framed earlier policy choices as responses to widely publicized but, in his view, debunked reports of foreign interference and urged a fuller correction rather than a partial unwind.
The transcript shows back‑and‑forth floor remarks and no roll‑call breakdown by individual member in this excerpt; the clerk reported the aggregate tally. The debate on the floor focused on whether the change appropriately narrows administrative burdens without creating loopholes for outside influence in ballot initiatives.
Next steps: the bill was passed by the House on third reading; further procedural steps (enrollment and transmission to the Senate or the enrolled‑bill process) were not recorded in this transcript excerpt.
Representative Fitzgibbon said on the floor: "This bill seeks to reduce that burden on people running for office by setting a threshold... such that they would only apply to contributions over $6,000." Representative Walsh said: "This is a bad bill... This is a half measure. Vote no."
