VPIRG executive director Paul Burns called on Friday for better disclosure of super PAC funders, arguing that this year’s elections had been corrupted by Vermonters First’s spending. Burns urged state legislators to consider requiring super PACs to:
• Disclose all contributions within 24 hours of receipt, during the 30 days before a primary or general election;
• Prominently list their top contributors in all mass media communications;
• Have top contributors appear in all electronic advertisements, claiming responsibility for the ad, if that contributor has raised more than half of the money raised by the super PAC.
Burns said these measures could at least achieve greater transparency in politics, allowing voters to see how much people are spending to influence officials, pending a fuller solution which might actually curtail such spending.
He said both the House and Senate chairs of the Government Operations Committee, alongside Secretary of State Jim Condos, seemed very open to discussing such legislation.
