State and county political parties would have to reveal donors to their operating accounts under bipartisan legislation proposed yesterday in the Ohio House.

But don't look for quick passage.

House Speaker Larry Householder took a wait-and-see attitude, and Senate President Richard H. Finan indicated he's opposed to the idea.

The bill was proposed by Reps. Joseph Sulzer, D-Chillicothe, and Timothy Grendell, R-Chesterland, after recent revelations that a Cleveland-area broker suspected of bilking clients for millions of dollars contributed thousands of dollars to the Hamilton County Republican Party, which helped fund state Treasurer Joseph T. Deters' re-election campaign. Concealing donors to political-party organizational funds has been controversial since $25,000 and $50,000 donors to the Ohio Republican Party in the fall of 1999 were offered special access to Gov. Bob Taft.

The contributions from "Team Ohio'' members went to the party's operating fund and Republican state Chairman Robert T. Bennett declined to identify the donors, saying the law did not require it.

"Voters have every right to know the identity of those who contribute to our democracy,'' Sulzer said. "This bill is about democracy.''

Said Grendell: "We need to ensure the integrity of our campaign- finance system. Full disclosure allows the public to be the watchdog upholding that integrity. And in a democracy, that's exactly where the authority should rest.''

A spokesman for Taft said the governor is not familiar with the details of the bill. "The governor has always been for full disclosure,'' Joe Andrews said.

A similar comment was made by a spokesman for Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who oversees the state's election laws. "Mr. Blackwell has been a strong advocate of full disclosure of all money in the political process, including operating accounts,'' James Lee said.

Blackwell proposed similar legislation in 2000 but it did not pass. Last week, he repeated his call for full disclosure.

David Kennedy, director of legislative affairs for the secretary of state's office, said the Sulzer-Grendell proposal needs refinement if it is to accomplish its purpose. Kennedy said the bill does not define political-party operating accounts, and that any disclosure requirement should be applied to all funds that might influence an election.

Parties maintain operating funds for administration and other nonpolitical purposes as determined by the party. There are no limits on the amount of money that individuals can contribute to a party operating fund.

Householder said he has not thought about what to do with the bill. "We'll send it to the State Government Committee and have some hearings and see how it turns out,'' he said.

The committee is dominated by the House Republican leadership team, which is likely to control the bill's fate.

Finan declined to speculate on the bill but indicated he opposes disclosure of where political parties get their operating money because they can't influence legislation. "Nobody on that (political party) committee votes on anything in the General Assembly,'' he said. "I don't know of anybody on a county operating budget that has a vote up here.''

In fact, Sen. Jeff Jacobson, R- Vandalia, is chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party.

Meanwhile, the Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee opened hearings into the state's security- brokerage regulations to see whether stronger laws need to be written for the Ohio Department of Commerce to enforce them.

The hearings were requested by Householder after news accounts of a Cleveland-based investment banker for Lehman Bros. who is suspected of bilking clients out of $277 million.

Frank Gruttadauria, who performed work for the state treasurer's office, also donated $50,000 to the Hamilton County Republican Party's operating fund.

Deborah Dye Jones, commissioner of securities for the Commerce Department, said the division has caught a number of "con'' artists. She said an investigation could be conducted to find out what happened to the money Gruttadauria allegedly stole from clients.

"The point is, regardless of the breadth of the regulatory framework, the regulator must be vigilant, the brokerage firm must be vigilant and, yes, the investor must be vigilant as well,'' she said.