(The Center Square) – A Washington lawmaker is calling for the state Legislature to give several spending transparency bills he’s sponsored a second look in the wake of allegations made against the state’s Community Reinvestment Program.
Meanwhile, the committee chair where one of the bills was introduced says misuse of state program funds will be the focus of work sessions and potential action in the upcoming session.
“I think we’ve seen quite a few examples of public programs being taken advantage of,” House Consumer Protection & Business Committee Chair Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, told The Center Square in a phone interview.
Independent journalist and “unDivided” podcast host Brandi Kruse on Monday published an article containing allegations via a whistleblower that several nonprofits had been using CRP funds obtained through the state Department of Commerce to personally enrich those either running the program or connected to those who do. The Center Square published a story the same day after speaking with the whistleblower.
Reacting to the news, Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, wrote on X that “I wish I could say I’m surprised, but this kind of corrupt activity is pervasive in WA.”
Couture was the sponsor of two bills this session, House Bill 2058 and House Bill 2059, which he says would prevent this kind of misuse of state funds moving forward.
HB 2058 would require private entities that receive taxpayer money through grants hire a third party auditor to conduct an audit, to be paid for by the private entity itself. The State Auditor would have to approve the entity’s choice for an auditor.
The audit would have to include the following:
The total amount of state and federal moneys received by the entityItemized accounting of how all public moneys were spentEvaluation of financial statements and budget reports of the entityVerification of proper allocation and use of public moneysReview of the effectiveness and outcomes of programs funded by public moneysEvaluation of whether the use of the public moneys achieved the intended goals and objectives
HB 2059 would require private entities that receive state funds to disclose certain information on their website, including names of employees and their wages, board members and their compensation, in addition to political contributions in the four previous election cycles. They would also have to disclose any lobbyists and how the grant money was spent.
“Of course these simple solutions almost any Washingtonian would support were ignored by the majority,” Couture wrote in his X post.
However, Walen wrote in an email that she “would have heard it last time if it had been introduced on time to [be] scheduled. I will definitely hear the bill.”
In a phone interview with The Center Square discussing his bills and the CRP allegations, Couture said, “I didn’t need to predict this was happening” when he sponsored the legislation. “I just knew this was happening with a lot of different things.”
He compared the situation with the CRP to the use of Climate Commitment Act spending. The Center Square has previously reported that 90% of CCA spending doesn’t go to projects that reduce carbon, and roughly .1% of spending at the time had originated from an air quality account.
“We’re raising tons of revenue and sending it to the buddies of the people in power,” Couture said. “It’s a vicious circle and it needs to end.”
He added that “to some extent, House Republicans are going to be asking for work sessions and public hearings on some of the these things,” noting that misuse of CRP funds is just “one out of probably a thousand that we should be looking at.”
Walen said that while work sessions before next year have already been scheduled, she intends to hold additional ones during the session to examine misuse of public funds, though the shorter session may limit legislative action.
“We know we’ve got money issues again,” she said. “My thought is to use the 60 days to educate people. I’m eager to put tools in place that hold the way that we fund those kinds of programs accountable to the people. We’ve got working families struggling to make ends meet.”
When The Center Square reached out to the Department of Commerce for comment on HB 2058 and HB 2059, Media Relations Manager Amelia Lamb wrote that “we are open to new ideas and creative solutions that align with the Governor’s agenda and safeguard public funds. Commerce has not fully reviewed these specific bills. We work closely with the Legislature, Governor, and auditor to provide information and data on the implementation of funding. For the upcoming session, we’ll consider any legislation through our standard review process, in partnership with the Governor’s Office, for efficiency and transparency in agency programs.”
