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Haler gets second
accountability bill through the House
The state House of
Representatives today passed another government accountability bill sponsored by
Rep. Larry Haler.
House
Bill 2904 would prohibit incumbent candidates for city or county
office from appearing on publicly funded television except in an
official capacity during an election cycle. The bill passed 81-14.
"It creates an unlevel
playing field if an incumbent can use publically funded television
during an election campaign," says Haler. "All candidates should be
equal when it comes to public resources."
The 8th District lawmaker
notes the bill would direct local government access channels to develop
policies to avoid preferential treatment of incumbent candidates. The
policies would apply June 1 of an election year and continue through the
general election in November.
"State representatives
have a similar rule," adds Haler. "The public demands, and more
importantly deserves, accountability from elected officials and this law
would help ensure there is no abuse of power."
This is the second
government accountability bill sponsored by Haler that has passed the
House.
House Bill 2567 passed 77-19 last week and would increase the
monetary penalty for violating the Open Public Meetings Act from $100 to
a range between $250 to $1,000.
"There seems to be an
appetite in Olympia for increasing accountability," says Haler. "I
believe the public has done a good job raising concerns with lawmakers,
and I am pleased Olympia is starting to respond."
House Bill 2904 now goes
to the Senate for consideration.
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For more information, contact:
Mike Deising, Public
Information Officer - (360) 786-7698
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