Other LanguagesWashington State Association for Justice allegedly failed to properly file three reports in 2012
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ) will pay the state $9,240 to resolve an Attorney General’s Office lawsuit over the organization’s failure to timely and properly file lobbyist employer reports.
WSAJ — formerly known as the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association — will pay a $1,500 penalty and $7,740 in costs and fees.
In January, the Attorney General’s Office received a Citizen Action Complaint from the Freedom Foundation against WSAJ alleging violations of the state’s campaign finance laws. The AGO referred the matter to the state Public Disclosure Commission for possible investigation and a recommendation. Following an investigation, PDC staff reported their findings to the Commission that WSAJ had not violated state law on one of the two allegations. However, PDC staff did report that WSAJ had not properly reported contributions to several political committees as required.
On March 11, 2016, the Commission returned the matter to the AGO with a recommendation that the Attorney General take appropriate action concerning WSAJ’s reporting failures.
The AGO filed a complaint alleging that WSAJ failed to properly file three reports in 2012 which included failure to report a total of $81,872 in monetary contributions on two occasions.
The Attorney General’s Office enforces the state’s campaign finance disclosure law to ensure free, open, and fair elections in Washington.
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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contact:
Peter Lavallee, Communications Director, (360) 586-0725; PeterL@atg.wa.gov