Banning corporate political money could grow legs

Plus more new bills and some recommended reading

An under-the-radar campaign finance fight that ended in a House-Senate stalemate earlier this year figures to take center stage in next year’s Legislature. 

Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, last seen in The Observer when we wrote about her unusually successful freshman session, is bringing forward House Bill 1885, which would effectively ban political spending by publicly traded corporations in Washington State. 

Here’s why you should care about this: Corporations with stock-ticker symbols can and do spend freely to influence politics here, especially ballot initiative politics. Here are all such contributions over $1 million going back to 2018, courtesy of the Public Disclosure Commission.