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Public commenter urges PDC to expand automated reminders, revise penalties and resume audits
Summary
A public commenter praised the PDC's automated reminder system and urged the commission to expand it, to have the agency initiate complaints for missing filings, to revise penalty schedules to reflect activity and inflation, and to restart the statutory audit program and stakeholder meetings.
A public commenter identified as Connor told the commission the PDC's recently implemented automated reminder system has been "wildly successful" and urged the agency to expand the program and make the PDC the party that initiates enforcement when filings are missing, rather than rely on members of the public to file complaints.
Connor argued the current nominal fines no longer deter noncompliance and encouraged the commission to consider penalty-schedules used by Oregon and the Federal Election Commission that scale fines by activity and days late. He also urged the PDC to resume its audit program, which he said is required by statute, and to restart stakeholder meetings to improve filing guidance and reduce technical errors that lead filers to say they "thought they hit submit."
Commissioner Leach asked Connor to prepare a proposed fine schedule and a table of other states' approaches; Connor agreed to provide written suggestions to staff before the commission's next meeting. Chair Hayward and other commissioners acknowledged the points and said staff would consider the suggestions and follow up as appropriate.
The public comment highlighted recurring themes the commission addressed during the adjudications: candidate confusion about the ORCA filing interface, whether lack of technical understanding should excuse late filings, and how to calibrate penalties to be fair to small, low-activity candidates while deterring larger, sophisticated committees.
