News Release No. 2007-3
April 26, 2007
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Supreme Court Sets New Rules for Talk Radio Hosts in Political Campaigns Contact: Randy Gaylord (360-298-2800 cell) or Mike Vaska (206-447-8895) The Washington Supreme Court ruled for the first time today that talk radio hosts can use their shows to promote their own campaigns-including by asking for money and votes -without having to comply with state public disclosure law. Reaching its decision in San Juan County v. No New Gas Tax Committee, the Supreme Court rejected a previous opinion by the state's Public Disclosure Commission that would have required talk show hosts to comply with disclosure laws when they use air time for campaigning. "As the Supreme Court noted in its decision, this case presents an important public disclosure issue that requires a balancing of the public interests served by campaign finance regulations and the interests of media organizations," said San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, who brought the enforcement action that was the subject of the appeal along with the cities of Seattle, Kent and Auburn. "The question is where to draw the line between campaigning and commentary," he said. "The Supreme Court rejected the line previously drawn by the Public Disclosure Commission, the trial court, and even Fisher Broadcasting," he said. The Supreme Court said disclosure is required under the statute only if the radio station was controlled by a political committee. "We filed this case to require the No New Gas Tax campaign to come clean with the public about the source of its contributions, and we fully succeeded in that goal," Gaylord said. "The public's right to know who was funding the campaign was fully protected by the trial court's preliminary injunction, and its decision to require disclosure of cash contributions was not challenged in the appeal," he said. The Supreme Court's decision arose from a public disclosure enforcement action started in 2005 against the No New Gas Tax Committee. The case was filed when the campaign-which was started by two KVI talk radio hosts-failed to identify the source of $70,000 in cash contributions. The trial judge ordered the campaign to disclose the source of the cash and, in addition, the value of any in kind contributions, including any air time used to ask for money or other support for the campaign. The No New Gas Tax campaign complied with the court's order, disclosing the names of the contributors and $20,000 of in kind contributions from Fisher Broadcasting--which owns the talk show hosts' radio station--for air time used to promote their campaign. The campaign filed counterclaims alleging the order violated its free speech rights. The campaign appealed dismissal of its counterclaims by the trial court to the Supreme Court. In taking a narrow approach to the case, the court declined to rule on whether the First Amendment or the state constitution barred disclosure of on air time by the radio talk show hosts. The case has been remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. |