This bill amends existing campaign finance law (RCW 29B.40.090 and 29B.40.130). It expands and clarifies permissible dispositions of a candidate’s or authorized committee’s surplus campaign funds, including returning funds to contributors, reimbursing lost earnings and direct out-of-pocket campaign or postelection expenses, transferring to political parties or caucus committees, donating to registered charities, transmitting funds to specified state accounts (general fund; Washington state legacy project; state library and archives account; legislative international trade account), holding funds for a future campaign for the same office, and holding surplus in a separate account specifically for nonreimbursed public office-related expenses. The separate account may not receive non-surplus campaign deposits, transfers to other candidates or political committees are prohibited, and the disposal of surplus under the section is clarified not to be a contribution for purposes of the title. The bill also amends standards for when contributions may be paid to a candidate, treasurer, or used for personal use by enumerating reimbursements allowed: lost earnings (defined as verifiable unpaid salary or a comparable amount for non‑salaried individuals), documented direct out-of-pocket campaign/postelection expenses, repayment of loans a person made to a political committee (with a $4,700 cap on reimbursements for candidate self-loans), and reimbursement for direct legal expenses incurred responding to citizen action or ethics complaints, investigations, hearings under chapter 42.52 RCW or applicable local ethics codes, and for petitioning for related protection orders. Reimbursements must be documented in writing (amount, date, description) and included in reporting under RCW 29B.25.100. Legal fees are eligible for disposition or reimbursement only if incurred after January 1, 2025. The affected parties include candidates, candidate-authorized committees, political parties and caucus committees, registered charities, the state treasurer, and ethics bodies; however, the text supplied does not define “surplus funds” nor does it include the detailed reporting and recordkeeping timelines or formats contained in the cited RCW 29B.25 provisions.

If enacted, candidates and their authorized committees would have clearer, expanded ways to use leftover campaign money: they could hold surplus funds in a separate account specifically to pay nonreimbursed public office–related expenses (including certain legal fees tied to citizen or ethics complaints and related protection orders incurred after January 1, 2025), reimburse lost earnings and direct out-of-pocket campaign costs, repay some loans (with a $4,700 cap on reimbursing a candidate’s own loans), donate to registered charities or political parties, return money to contributors, send funds to specified state accounts, or keep funds for a future run for the same office. The bill also bars transferring funds to other candidates or political committees, says these dispositions aren’t treated as contributions, and requires written documentation and reporting for reimbursements. This mainly affects candidates, treasurers, and candidate committees by adding new options for handling surplus funds and reducing personal financial risk from certain legal or ethics matters, but it also increases recordkeeping and reporting responsibilities and constrains how money can be moved (no transfers to other candidates/committees and a self-loan reimbursement limit). Political parties, charities, and the state treasury could receive more transfers of surplus money. The text provided does not define “surplus funds” or include the detailed timing and format of reporting and recordkeeping requirements referenced in other sections, so how those rules work in practice remains unclear.