House votes 92-2 for Miloscia bill against lying by politicians

February 23, 2009

OLYMPIA—Politicians would no longer be able to lie about opponents with impunity, if a measure passed by the House today is signed into law.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Mark Miloscia (D-Federal Way) was requested by the Public Disclosure Commission in order to apply state laws against false advertising to political communications.

"This bill simply establishes some overdue minimum standards of honesty and decency in political campaigning," said Miloscia.

The legislation grew out of a case, Rickert v. the Public Disclosure Commission, where the state Supreme Court overturned a prohibition against lying about political opponents on the grounds that the ban did not require proof of the defamatory nature of the statements.

The ruling was blasted by some members of the court at the time.

"Today, the Washington State Supreme Court becomes the first court in the history of the Republic to declare First Amendment protection for calculated lies," said then-Justice Phil Talmadge.

The legislation passed today clarifies that political advertising which includes a false statement of material fact about a political candidate must be made with actual malice and be libelous or defamatory in order to be a violation of state campaign laws.

The bill also prohibits candidates from making defamatory or libelous statements about opponents in the candidate's statement submitted to the Secretary of State for inclusion in the voters' pamphlet. Representatives of both political parties gave strong support to Miloscia's legislation.

"This is truly a quality bill," Rep. Mike Armstrong (R-Wenatchee) said during the floor debate. House Bill 1286 passed the House with a 92-2 vote and now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

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