A bill that would revamp the state’s complicated and confusing campaign finance laws has plenty of momentum, but little direction.
The Senate Government Operations Committee, which has taken the lead on drafting campaign finance reform proposals this session, is hearing debate on donation limits, identifying Super PAC donors by photo and the frequency of campaign finance reporting.
No consensus has been reached yet on important details. The main players include Secretary of State Jim Condos, who advises on campaign finance matters, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, which enforces violations of the law, the three major political parties, and good government advocates.
The most noteworthy idea now in circulation is the removal of a $2,000 cap on single donations to state parties, and increasing that limit tenfold, so that citizens can each give $20,000 per election cycle to state parties.
Jake Perkinson, who chairs the state Democratic Party, told VTDigger that the “reasonable” figure isn’t high enough that the party would exert too much influence in elections, but “would allow at the same time for the party to be competitive with Super PACs, which can have unlimited donations.”
Perkinson is pessimistic that anything can be done about the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allowed companies and unions to donate unlimited amounts to political committees that act independently of candidates.
“The more limitations you put on candidates and parties, the more powerful you make Super PACs,” said Perkinson. “If you put restrictions on what candidates and parties can spend, logically and inevitably, you’re making Super PACs stronger.”
Sen. Anthony Pollina, a Washington County Progressive, fears that giving political parties too few restrictions on campaign funds might lead to parties becoming more like Super PACs, not less.
“The thing is, I don’t want to see parties turn into Super PACs,” Pollina said in a committee meeting on Wednesday. “It’s like criticizing one thing all the time, then becoming that thing.”
Republican state party chair Jack Lindley agrees with Perkinson’s reasoning, arguing that the way things are now, there isn’t a level playing field.
At the other end of the political spectrum, Progressive Party executive director Rob Millar is circulating a petition, asking Vermonters to stop contributing to politicians who take money from companies.
The Progressive Party hasn’t accepted corporate contributions for years, Millar said. He hopes to present the petition come July 2013, the next time candidates file campaign finance reports. Although corporate contributions are banned federally, they are allowed for state-level candidates. A state Senate effort to ban corporate contributions failed last year.
If campaign finance rules aren’t changed, both Lindley and Perkinson warn the advent of Super PACs heralds the death of political parties.
While some repeat the refrain that more transparency and more frequent disclosure are the solutions, rather than donation and spending limits, at least one bill calls for an end to donation limits.
Rep. Tom Koch, R/D-Barre, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would remove caps on contributions. His legislation would also institute stiff penalties — misdemeanour convictions and civil penalties of up to $10,000 — for candidates who file late or false information about their political finances.
“I don’t see that we need to regulate contribution limits: I think they’re arbitrary,” said Koch. “My whole philosophy is that somebody should take whatever money he thinks he needs, from whatever source, spend it the way he thinks, and let the people know about it, let the people judge whether he did right or wrong.”
In a decision issued on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court also said it will take up a case challenging the $123,000 maximum that one individual can give per cycle to any combination of federal candidates, parties, and PACs.
Jim Bopp, the leading campaign finance lawyer who successfully challenged Vermont’s campaign finance law in 2006, is the prime mover behind the case which will be considered in October, according to the Burlington Free Press.
Rep. Kurt Wright, a Burlington Republican, will introduce yet another campaign finance bill this week. Both Republicans and Democrats have been scrambling to be the first to promote reforms.
Assistant Attorney General Eve Jacobs-Carnahan said her office will give a detailed response to the bills later this week. A proposal from the Democrats — the requirement that top donors to PACs include a photo of themselves in ads — gave her pause.
“We’re not aware that any other state has such a requirement, and we haven’t seen any justification for why a photo is more useful to the voters than the names of the people who have given money to the group,” said Jacobs-Carnahan.
The balancing test, she said, is to ensure proposed regulations don’t become unduly burdensome while at the same time providing voters with useful information.
The Senate Government Operations Committee will take up campaign finance again on Thursday.
