42.17A.105 - Commission -- Duties.

Commission — Duties. (Effective January 1, 2012.)

The commission shall:

     (1) Develop and provide forms for the reports and statements required to be made under this chapter;

     (2) Prepare and publish a manual setting forth recommended uniform methods of bookkeeping and reporting for use by persons required to make reports and statements under this chapter;

     (3) Compile and maintain a current list of all filed reports and statements;

     (4) Investigate whether properly completed statements and reports have been filed within the times required by this chapter;

     (5) Upon complaint or upon its own motion, investigate and report apparent violations of this chapter to the appropriate law enforcement authorities;

     (6) Conduct a sufficient number of audits and field investigations to provide a statistically valid finding regarding the degree of compliance with the provisions of this chapter by all required filers. Any documents, records, reports, computer files, papers, or materials provided to the commission for use in conducting audits and investigations must be returned to the candidate, campaign, or political committee from which they were received within one week of the commission's completion of an audit or field investigation;

     (7) Prepare and publish an annual report to the governor as to the effectiveness of this chapter and its enforcement by appropriate law enforcement authorities;

     (8) Enforce this chapter according to the powers granted it by law;

     (9) Adopt rules governing the arrangement, handling, indexing, and disclosing of those reports required by this chapter to be filed with a county auditor or county elections official. The rules shall:

     (a) Ensure ease of access by the public to the reports; and

     (b) Include, but not be limited to, requirements for indexing the reports by the names of candidates or political committees and by the ballot proposition for or against which a political committee is receiving contributions or making expenditures;

     (10) Adopt rules to carry out the policies of chapter 348, Laws of 2006. The adoption of these rules is not subject to the time restrictions of RCW 42.17A.110(1);

     (11) Adopt administrative rules establishing requirements for filer participation in any system designed and implemented by the commission for the electronic filing of reports; and

     (12) Maintain and make available to the public and political committees of this state a toll-free telephone number.

[2010 c 204 § 302; 1973 c 1 § 36 (Initiative Measure No. 276, approved November 7, 1972). Formerly RCW 42.17.360.]