A Democratic political action committee planned a fundraiser Wednesday night at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier, a practice two Republican lawmakers hope to stop.
The Vermont Democratic House Campaign is looking for a suggested $100 donation from attendees and $1,000 from the evening’s sponsors, who are likely to be a “who’s who of the lobbying firms” in town, according to Rep. Tim Jerman, D-Essex Junction, the assistant majority whip.
The PAC’s director, Katherine Levasseur, said Wednesday she could not provide a list of sponsors, but that information will be available in its next finance disclosure report.
Individual lawmakers are barred from raising money during the legislative session, but PACs do not face that limitation.
Two House Republicans say that needs to change. Rep. Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, and Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset, say they will introduce a bill this week to prevent PACs from fundraising during the session.
“Last year, when (Speaker) Shap (Smith) had a fundraiser for the Democrats in the final days of the session, while key legislation was moving, it was unseemly and wrong to be raising money from lobbyists,” Wright said, referring to an event 10 days before the 2014 session ended.
It was ironic, Wright said, that earlier in the session the General Assembly passed a joint resolution calling for a constitutional convention to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision on campaign finance.
“They want to get money out of politics at the federal level, but I guess they feel like it’s OK here,” he said.
Komline called the Democrats’ fundraising practices “pay to play” legislating and called the lobbyists mid-session donations “shakedown money.”
Wright said he’s not concerned that Republicans might be labeled hypocrites for their own fundraising practices in the past or that the bill might preclude his party from fundraising opportunities in the future.
“It shouldn’t be happening at all,” he added.
Majority Leader Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, and Jerman said they are not influenced by the donations of lobbyists to their party’s PAC.
The Vermont Democratic House Committee needs to have opportunities to fundraise outside the “intensely focused” election cycle, and restricting it from doing so during the session would make that difficult, Hanzas said.
Jerman said he understands the public perception, but added that he believes Komline and Wright raise a legitimate topic for the House to discuss.
If the bill gains traction and becomes law, the Democrats will have no problem abiding by it, Hanzas said.
“If we, as a body, come together and change the rules, then it’s something we will all live by,” she said.
Former House Speaker Timothy O’Connor is scheduled to speak at Wednesday’s event. O’Connor was the first Democratic Speaker of the Vermont House.
For Hanzas, who is new to leadership, the event is an opportunity to learn from her predecessors, have a drink and enjoy some hors d’oeuvres, she said.
