Citizens in Charge

Washington state lawmakers forged ahead Monday with a bill to require ballot initiative campaigns to identify their top five donors in their advertisements.

The bill passed out of a House committee on a party-line vote, with seven Democrats in favor and four Republicans opposed.

Supporters of the legislation note that corporate spending on ballot initiatives has increased dramatically in recent years. They point to the $22 million that Costco Wholesale Corp. spent on last November’s successful initiative campaign to replace state-run liquor stores with large-scale privately owned ones. And they say the measure would make clear for voters where the money backing voter initiatives is coming from.