 |
  |
Taft, Blackwell offer campaign finance reform proposalDaily Reporter Staff Writer 06/19/2002 Ohio's governor and secretary of state on Tuesday unveiled a proposal for full disclosure of political party operating accounts and activities of issue-advocacy organizations. They conceded, however, that true campaign finance reform is improbable before the 2002 election. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell stood together at the Statehouse to brief reporters on their proposal for campaign finance reform. Citing the recent adoption of the federal "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002," the two said the time is now right for true campaign finance reform in Ohio. Although still searching for a sponsor to introduce the bill to the Ohio General Assembly, Taft and Blackwell said they are proposing legislation that would require full disclosure by expanding the definition of a campaign "expenditure" to include "any use or disbursement of contributions by a state or county political party or legislative campaign fund." Any expenditure by those entities would be considered "either to be made for the purpose of influencing the results of an election or to be made as a charitable donation" and, therefore, be subject to disclosure. Under current Ohio law, political party operating accounts may be used for purposes such as staff salaries, maintenance of party headquarters and party building activities, and are not subject to disclosure. "Voters are now more aware of the need for reform," Taft said. "This is a reasonable and responsible bill that I urge the legislation to move on quickly." "We believe that by proposing a sweeping and additional set of reforms we can, over the course of the next several months, pass campaign reform that has the support of both parties," said Blackwell. "This bill will contain smart, effective campaign finance reform." Neither Taft nor Blackwell believes the proposal will be adopted and become law before the November elections or, for that matter, by the end of the year. They indicated there is a division among lawmakers and House and Senate leaders regarding views on campaign finance reform. "This bill won't be passed easily," said Blackwell. "There are folks who believe that the system is not broken. It will require us to ask, to cajole, to plead and to demand this legislation." Neither Senate President Richard Finan, R-Cincinnati, nor Senate Republican caucus spokespeople were available for comment as of press time, but, a source close to House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, said he has long been a proponent of full disclosure. "As far as campaign finance reform, the speaker has made no secret about his support for full disclosure," said Jennifer Detwiler. "But he's not had a chance to speak on these specific proposals." The proposals to which Detwiler alluded include a provision purporting to address issue-advocacy funds, which have been viewed as a particularly sticky source of campaign revenue by some parties for some time. Various entities, including Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Thomas Moyer and state Rep. Ann Womer Benjamin, R-Aurora, have called for disclosure of those contributing financially to issue-advocacy campaigns since before the 2000 election. During that campaign, Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick was accused of basing her court votes on the wants and needs of her financial supporters. Taft helped raise money for the group behind the anti-Resnick ads, Citizens for a Strong Ohio, but he said Tuesday that he would not promote or contribute to a similar campaign again. "We are more sensitive now to these issues-advocacy campaigns," Taft said. The proposed bill would address issue-advocacy funding by defining issue-advocacy activities as "electioneering communication." Such communication would be considered to be "any broadcast, cable or satellite communication, any distribution of printed materials or any telemarketing activity which refers to the name, image or likeness of a candidate and occurs on the day of an election or within 60 days preceding an election at which the name of the candidate described appears on the ballot." The proposed law would require full disclosure for any person or entity that disburses funds to purchase or fund electioneering communication. That person or entity also would be required to report the source and amount of contributions used to fund that communication, as well as the date and amount of all disbursements and the name and address of the recipients. Whether such measures to raise accountability among issue-advocacy groups would be viewed by various courts of law as deterrents to free speech remain to be seen, but Blackwell rejected such notions. "This does not ban or limit speech, but it will reveal who is speaking," he said. "I think we have done the best job possible of drafting legislation ... that would pass constitutional muster, but this is a tough issue," noted Taft. Additionally, the bill would require political parties to report contributors' addresses and employer information in addition to contributors' names. Such a measure was called for on Monday by Ohio Citizen Action, which pointed out that current Ohio law requires only contributors' names. "I am glad to hear that the governor and the secretary of state are moving full disclosure forward," said Catherine Turcer, campaign finance director for Ohio Citizen Action, a non-profit government watchdog. "It is time to move past the rhetoric and political maneuvering. Any political money that does not see the light of day creates dilemmas for candidates and the parties and makes citizens of Ohio suspicious." Bills similar to the one proposed by Taft and Blackwell have been sponsored by Sen. Dan Brady, D-Cleveland, and Blackwell's opponent in the upcoming race for secretary of state, Rep. Bryan Flannery, D-Lakewood. Brady, the assistant Senate minority leader, has seen his Senate Bill 246 languish in committee without a hearing for nearly a year. Senate Minority Leader Leigh Herington, D-Ravenna, also called for full disclosure in Senate Bill 294 in the 123rd Ohio General Assembly. "It has been 760 days since the governor called for full disclosure," Herington said. "He supported my full disclosure bill and it didn't even get a hearing. "If they are serious about this, why don't they even have a sponsor? I will sponsor it for the governor if he will guarantee that it will pass before November." If you have questions or comments for The Daily Reporter regarding this story please contact editor@sourcenews.com. |
 |