PDC denies petition to broaden penalty categories for repeat violators

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission on July 23 denied a petition asking the agency to reopen penalty‑schedule rulemaking to impose higher base penalties for subsequent offenses across different violation categories.

Petitioner Connor Edwards asked the commission to make explicit that subsequent occasions of any violation should elevate a respondent into higher penalty brackets even when the prior violation was in a different category. Staff and multiple commissioners argued the request was premature given the commission’s recent rulemaking, which updated penalty ranges earlier this year.

Sean Flynn, presenting staff’s view, summarized the agency’s prior rulemaking and told commissioners: "Those rules were adopted on the 1st of this year, so not more than 7 months afterwards to have another petition filed to request opening rulemaking on the same topic seems a bit premature." The commission voted to deny the petition; the denial was adopted as record and reasoned in the forthcoming order.

Commissioners noted that current rules already permit consideration of prior compliance history as an aggravating factor when applying penalties, and that prosecutorial discretion and the existing penalty framework provide mechanisms to elevate sanctions where warranted.