Campaign Finance Reform - What form should it take?
Bill Fleming who is usually commenting over at Mt. Blogmore asked me about tightening campaign finance law under my most recent attempt at following campaign money trails. After I typed my response, I'm thinking it's a good top level discussion.
What form should campaign finance reform take this next session?
Secretary of State Chris Nelson weighed in recently at the Argus Leader. Here's what he thought would be good:
Under this, you could still give a legislative candidate $6-11,000 between a personal donation and a PAC you set up to avoid the $1000 limit. And that would be it. Anyone else you'd give to would be limited to the $1000. The point would be to keep from encouraging single individuals from abusing and prostituting the system as has taken place over the past few cycles.
One commenter noted that it should be more about reporting than limits. And I'd agree to a point. Raise the ceiling where it exists, and install a high one where it doesn't. But most importantly, make sure it's nice and bright so you can see what's going on.
It's not directly campaign finance related, but I'd also throw in that paid petition circulators need to go, because it should be about the idea, not A buck or two per signature.
What are your ideas and thoughts on this?
What form should campaign finance reform take this next session?
Secretary of State Chris Nelson weighed in recently at the Argus Leader. Here's what he thought would be good:
Read it all here. Good ideas. Where do I fall in on all of this? Not that you care, but it's a good jumping off point for discussion:"Over the years, a number of legislators and others have tried to change our campaign finance laws, but none of that has gone anywhere," Nelson said. "I had the feeling by early summer that there was enough concern across the state that the time was right to look at the issue."
He said he hasn't finished the details of the bill. It generally will deal with:Greater clarity in who and what groups must file financial reports. Whether contribution limits for individuals or groups should be set or changed. Currently, contributions to candidates are capped but contributions to political action committees, for example, are not. Requiring a financial report from groups that organize and carry out petition drives to place issues on the ballot. Currently, reporting requirements don't begin until an issue has been OK'd for the ballot. Requiring legislative candidates to file pre-election finance reports. Reports aren't required of general-election candidates for the Legislature until the end of the year, too late to let people see how much those candidates received and spent. Civil penalties for failing to file reports. Failure to file is a misdemeanor, Nelson said, but criminal charges for late filing are rare to nonexistent. Nelson thinks a per-day fine would make candidates and groups take the filing requirements more seriously.
"My goal would be to never collect a penalty but to have the reports filed on time," Nelson said. "What we're trying to do is assure that there is disclosure of information for citizens in a timely manner."
I'd like to see higher personal limits on races. ($1000 legislative, $5000 state races).Now, these aren't tough guidelines. In fact, they're pretty darn loose with high limits.
I'd like to at least place some moderation on using PACS as a vehicle to avoid campaign finance limits, by possibly limiting the amount individuals can contribute. I would think a $5-10,000 aggregate yearly total limit for State PACS per person is entirely reasonable, as it isn't likely to limit the activities of the common man, but it will keep single individuals from buying elections.
I think reporting should be earlier and with no loopholes for associations and corporations. I'd also like to see another reporting interval in there during election years. Such as adding the first of October to the one 2 weeks out and end of year.
I'd also like to see a 24 hour notice to the Secretary of State whenever funds are transferred between PACS.
And yes, we should finally have a penalty of some sort for failure to file on a timely basis. Given the number of zero filers, I think it could be based on a percentage of what you're reporting as received.
Under this, you could still give a legislative candidate $6-11,000 between a personal donation and a PAC you set up to avoid the $1000 limit. And that would be it. Anyone else you'd give to would be limited to the $1000. The point would be to keep from encouraging single individuals from abusing and prostituting the system as has taken place over the past few cycles.
One commenter noted that it should be more about reporting than limits. And I'd agree to a point. Raise the ceiling where it exists, and install a high one where it doesn't. But most importantly, make sure it's nice and bright so you can see what's going on.
It's not directly campaign finance related, but I'd also throw in that paid petition circulators need to go, because it should be about the idea, not A buck or two per signature.
What are your ideas and thoughts on this?
Comments
It is time for a major overhaul. Maybe it is time for an intiative. I suspect it would be easy to get it on the ballot. Just ask people if they favor campaign finance reform and full disclosure.
In today's computer age, the reporting can be instant. The penalties can be civil. And any candidate who fails to follow the rules gives up his/her seat.
For example, a system with monthly reporting throughout the year and then have reports due, 90, 60, 45, 30, 15 and 5 days prior to election day may be an alternative to real-time reporting. Would avoid something like the $750k surprise on 6 only being reported a couple days prior to the election when the money had long been spent.
The penalties must be real also, $5,000 or so for a late filing.
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BF,
I agree with all of this, but much of it just amounts to more paperwork.a major contributor will have to set up 25 PACS. It will take his secretary most of an afternoon.
Ask Pat what he thinks about closing down the Governor's Club and also what he thinks about contribution limits to parties and limits on what
parties can give to candidates. That's another loophole he left open.
But I think we're largely in agreement. In fact, I've been thinking of putting a similar measure applied to city hall races on the June ballot, smoke out hidden contributors and candidates who have taken their money. It would help level the playing field.
In Nebraska in 1992 when we worked the Governor's race (Bob Kerrey), there were no dollar limits and corporate money could go directly to
candidates, but here's the catch. Every penny of income AND outgo by the campaigns was independently audited. That is, the state actively
collected samples of mailings, newspaper ad clips, and broadcast buys and compared them to what the candidates reported. They'd either have to
be in balance or there had better be a good explanation for the difference. For months after that campaign, the auditors were sending inquiries about how many copies of this or that mailing went out and what they cost. They weren't haggling down to the nickel but did want to make sure it was pretty close. I haven't worked a non-federal race
in Nebraska for some time, so I don't know if they've changed this.
In SD, the Secretary of State merely scans the reports for egregious violations before posting and filing the reports. In Nebraska they made independently sure that what you said was what actually happened.
One other loophole -- the "event." Pat and I can meet with Fleming over coffee. We call it a coffee party. One of us puts $10,000 in the hat. We report it as proceeds of the Powers coffee party. Legal.
Does PP want to put limits on corporate contributions to ballot campaigns, too? I do.
Ask PP to total up what the state dems (non federal) spent versus what state Republicans spent and see if he still wants to clamp down. If so, tell him we'd be happy to help.
Refer to as much of the above as you wish from coming to me and tell him he still owes me a cup of coffee. We will not solicit donations at that event.
Jody
PS. Is PP also going to limit how much money Steve Kirby's brother can give in the Kirby vs. Schoenbeck primary in '08? Will he limit how much
Kirby can spend on his own race?
PPS. Should blogs or websites or email blasts produced by known activists or generally favoring a particular point of view be required
to report as third party or in-kind contributions, particularly when they're used to float attack garbage against or in favor of candidates?
Should public or quasi public groups that get government grants be allowed to contribute to poltical candidates whether or not they run as Democrats, Republicans, or in non-partisan races?
There should be something like those swimming pool fundraiser thermometers in the capitol during legislative sessions with the daily lobbyist expenditures and fees.