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Campaign rules upgraded
By: Bob Sigman, Opinion Page Editor
Efforts to make political campaigns more transparent in Kansas face stiff opposition in the Legislature. Politicians, at least many of those who serve in Topeka, prefer races in which the public knows as little as possible about the machinations behind the scenes.
Like details on who is contributing money and how much, and how that money is spent.
This is why any progress is big news and why there is so little of it.
Last year Kansans hailed passage of a bill that requires sponsors of so-called “robo calls” to identify themselves. A politician may still interrupt your peace and quiet, but at least you know who is bothering you.
That legislation also allows candidates to file campaign finance reports electronically. That gets information to the public quicker than in the past.
Given the Legislature’s record, this year’s achievements in campaign finance reforms are as impressive as any in years.
One measure eliminates what is referred to as the “blackout” of information in the days leading up to an election. It will be in effect for this year’s Aug. 4 primary.
In the past, the cutoff date was 11 days before Election Day. That allowed candidates to dump large amounts of contributions into a campaign’s late stages without revealing the sources of the donations and the expenditures.
Voters had to wait for weeks after the contest to find out if anything unexpected happened.
Over the years there have been a lot of “August or November surprises” that caught opponents off guard and led to the election of the candidate with the best political connections, not the best abilities to serve the public.
Under the new law, contributions in excess of $300 will have to be reported late in the campaign; the information must be filed with authorities by the Thursday preceding the Tuesday election. Political parties and political action committees must follow similar mandates.
The new rules also require more information to be available on independent expenditures. These expenditures, which are made without the cooperation or consent of the candidates, have been used in the past without full public disclosure.
With the new law, the reports have to show the name of the candidate, the intended target and details of the contributions, including their source and how they are spent.
Still another change. If a contribution exceeds $150, the candidate, political party or PAC must report, in addition to the occupation of the donor, the industry in which the contributor works. This change may appear to be minor, but it can show a pattern if an industry is attempting to influence an election.
All told, sneaky politicians will have to come clean, or at least cleaner, as the result of these initiatives.
None of them is new to the Legislature, explained Carol Williams, executive director of the nine-member Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, in an interview.
An example. Williams said reformers, including the commission, worked four years to persuade the recalcitrant Legislature to improve the independent expenditure provisions. Those supporters include some enlightened members of the Johnson County legislative delegation.
Williams, who appears at the Legislature on behalf of campaign finance reforms, said the public lets the commission know about its frustration with the lack of information and other loopholes in the regulations.
“They get so angry,” Williams said, adding that much more improvement in campaign finance is in order.
Williams said the commission supported revealing the name of the contributor’s employer in the finance reports. The legislators would not opt for that. The commission had to settle for adding the industry to the information. That is an improvement, but adding the employer would be far better.
“We’ll try it again (next year),” Williams said of the many other changes that are needed in the law. “You take what you can get. We’ll see what happens.”
Contact Bob Sigman at 385-6034 or e-mail bsigman@sunpublications.com.
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Like details on who is contributing money and how much, and how that money is spent.
This is why any progress is big news and why there is so little of it.
Last year Kansans hailed passage of a bill that requires sponsors of so-called “robo calls” to identify themselves. A politician may still interrupt your peace and quiet, but at least you know who is bothering you.
That legislation also allows candidates to file campaign finance reports electronically. That gets information to the public quicker than in the past.
Given the Legislature’s record, this year’s achievements in campaign finance reforms are as impressive as any in years.
One measure eliminates what is referred to as the “blackout” of information in the days leading up to an election. It will be in effect for this year’s Aug. 4 primary.
In the past, the cutoff date was 11 days before Election Day. That allowed candidates to dump large amounts of contributions into a campaign’s late stages without revealing the sources of the donations and the expenditures.
Voters had to wait for weeks after the contest to find out if anything unexpected happened.
Over the years there have been a lot of “August or November surprises” that caught opponents off guard and led to the election of the candidate with the best political connections, not the best abilities to serve the public.
Under the new law, contributions in excess of $300 will have to be reported late in the campaign; the information must be filed with authorities by the Thursday preceding the Tuesday election. Political parties and political action committees must follow similar mandates.
The new rules also require more information to be available on independent expenditures. These expenditures, which are made without the cooperation or consent of the candidates, have been used in the past without full public disclosure.
With the new law, the reports have to show the name of the candidate, the intended target and details of the contributions, including their source and how they are spent.
Still another change. If a contribution exceeds $150, the candidate, political party or PAC must report, in addition to the occupation of the donor, the industry in which the contributor works. This change may appear to be minor, but it can show a pattern if an industry is attempting to influence an election.
All told, sneaky politicians will have to come clean, or at least cleaner, as the result of these initiatives.
None of them is new to the Legislature, explained Carol Williams, executive director of the nine-member Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, in an interview.
An example. Williams said reformers, including the commission, worked four years to persuade the recalcitrant Legislature to improve the independent expenditure provisions. Those supporters include some enlightened members of the Johnson County legislative delegation.
Williams, who appears at the Legislature on behalf of campaign finance reforms, said the public lets the commission know about its frustration with the lack of information and other loopholes in the regulations.
“They get so angry,” Williams said, adding that much more improvement in campaign finance is in order.
Williams said the commission supported revealing the name of the contributor’s employer in the finance reports. The legislators would not opt for that. The commission had to settle for adding the industry to the information. That is an improvement, but adding the employer would be far better.
“We’ll try it again (next year),” Williams said of the many other changes that are needed in the law. “You take what you can get. We’ll see what happens.”
Contact Bob Sigman at 385-6034 or e-mail bsigman@sunpublications.com.