Relying on a convoluted (and perhaps unintended) set of cascading statutory definitions, the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability informed certain members of D.C. political party “state committees” that they were required to file public disclosures of their personal finances. We agreed to challenge this interpretation because party officials are not government officials or employees.
We did not file a lawsuit, however, because then-Councilmember Bowser introduced a bill to fix the situation. We testified in support at a hearing in June 2014, and later that month an emergency measure was passed. A permanent legislative fix was included in the fiscal year 2015 Budget Support Act, amending D.C. Code § 1-1162.24.
