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Monday, Jun 9, 2003 |
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Posted on June 05, 2003 Legislature approves campaign finance law
By JIM DAVENPORT Associated Press Writer Political parties and campaign donors will have to disclose more information under a bill the Legislature approved Thursday just before going home for the year. Campaign finance law changes were top priorities for legislative leaders and Gov. Mark Sanford who wanted more disclosure. "I think that's what this whole bill is about is disclosure. Let's find where the money is being spent, who's spending it for what purpose and let everybody know it," House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said shortly after ratifying the bill. "Disclosure to me is the key to campaign finance." Sanford agreed. "I'm extremely pleased," he said. "It's one of the big items that we laid out in the State of the State and really in our inaugural." Under the bill headed to Sanford's desk: - Political parties will have disclose soft money contributions - the money that for years has influenced elections without being reported in detail. "They've finally come up with more regulation of the parties with the requirement that parties will have to file and disclose everything they receive," State Ethics Commission Executive Director Herb Hayden said. - Political action committees can't transfer money for state campaigns among themselves. - Lobbyists won't be able to give money to PACs. - Lobbyists won't be able to drop their registrations temporarily to raise money for campaigns. If they drop their registrations, they can't register until the next year. - Statewide and General Assembly candidates will have to file campaign finance reports in an electronic format when there's enough money to create that system, Hayden said. "It's a big step in the right direction," said John Crangle, state director for Common Cause, a Washington-based government watchdog group. "It's a little stronger actually than what we thought we would get out of there." The soft money disclosures are key, Hayden said. "The parties have used that soft money for supporting candidates, not directly, but indirectly through multiple candidate ads ... that is intended to influence the election," Hayden said. "Someone could give ... an unlimited amount of money to the party to be used to get out the Republican vote or get out the Democratic vote without any of that being disclosed because none of it is going to candidates." Campaign finance bills have floated around the Statehouse for years, typically failing in the Senate. Former Gov. Jim Hodges vetoed similar legislation in November 2000, saying the legislation was unconstitutional and would encourage frivolous lawsuits. Similar legislation died last year when the Senate adjourned without adopting a compromise version of the bill. |
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