OLYMPIA (AP) — The Washington Public Disclosure Commission says it is struggling to find the dollars to keep its informative website up to date.
Gov. Jay Inslee has asked every state agency to propose how it would handle budget cuts.
PDC executive director Andrea McNamara Doyle says the agency that helps the public keep up with campaign finance information needs more money, not less, so it can update its online interface.
The agency would like $200,000 for upgrades to make it easier for candidates and lobbyists to file reports and for the public to find and understand them.
“If you are not staying up, you are falling behind,” said PDC chairman Grant Degginger of technology. “We have fallen really far behind.”
Inslee’s proposed spending plan would cut three PDC employees for the next two-year budget cycle. It offers the agency $24,000 for upgrades while reducing two-year spending overall by $81,000 to about $4 million.
Inslee’s budget office said the PDC’s requests were among more than 120 information technology spending requests it received.
“The governor’s budget includes more than $200 million in cuts to help balance the budget,” said state budget director David Schumacher. “The PDC, like all state agencies, did not receive funding for every new spending request.”
