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Senate-endorsed campaign finance bill aimed at 'dark money'
HELENA — A bipartisan coalition in the Montana Senate voted Thursday to pass a major campaign finance overhaul aimed at requiring so-called “dark money” groups to disclose their donors and how they spend money.
Senators voted 28-22 in favor of Senate Bill 289, by Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, on behalf of Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. It faces a final Senate vote Friday before moving to the House.
All 21 Senate Democrats voted for the bill, joined by seven Republicans — Sens. Ankney, Taylor Brown of Huntley, Ed Buttrey of Great Falls, Pat Connell of Hamilton, Llew Jones of Conrad, Rick Ripley of Wolf Creek and Bruce Tutvedt of Kalispell. Some of them have been victims of dark-money attacks in campaigns.
The bill would fight “dark money” by requiring all political organizations to fully disclose who’s donating money to their groups and how they are spending it in campaigns. Dark money is campaign spending by groups that don’t publicly report their donors or their spending.
Senators said these dark-money groups have been attacking legislative candidates for the past four election cycles without disclosing who is providing their money and where they are spending it.
“Basically, what this bill does is it says if you’re going to contribute to a campaign, you’re going to report,” Ankney said. “You get a contribution from your friend and neighbor, he’s required to give you his name, his address and his occupation. So why would people from out-of-state or in the shadows be any different?”
Some Republicans said the bill would have chilling effects on citizens of Montana and require groups to which they belong to file campaign reports.
Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, called the bill “a direct assault on the right to privacy.”
She said groups like associations and unions would have to disclose the names of their members, although others said that was not the case.
“We are saying to the citizens of Montana you don’t have the right to contribute to the causes you believe in,” said Sen. Eric Moore, R-Miles City, adding: “This bill has very little benefit and disastrous consequences to liberty and privacy."
Republican Senator Jones said the bill has nothing to do with groups like the Montana Stockgrowers Association or similar trade associations being forced to disclose members’ names.
“This is about those that truly intend to hide in the cloak of darkness,” he said. “This is a night we should not go quietly into.”
Montana elections have changed in the past decade, Jones said, with voters buried in attack mailers and advertisements from groups, and “we can’t truly determine who is paying the freight.”
Senate Minority Leader Jon Sesso, D-Butte, supported the bill.
“The business of dark money is insidious in our political process,” Sesso said. “If you know your enemy, you have a fighting chance. But if you don’t know who you’re fighting, you don’t have a fighting chance.”
Ankney closed for his bill by suggesting some of the criticism of the bill was not accurate.
“This ain’t gong to cut down the mudslinger,” he said, but it would allow him to find out who’s slinging mud and who finances these groups.
In reference to some of the criticism of the bill, Ankney said, “I see the fox saying, ‘Oh, leave the chicken house door open, because I won’t come in.’ That doesn’t work.”
Gazette opinion: A bipartisan push for Montana campaign transparency
When the U.S. Supreme Court opened the floodgates to virtually unlimited political spending, the court indicated that big money could talk all it wants because voters would still know who was doing the talking.
That’s not how elections are going.
The amount of money spent to influence Montana elections has outstripped citizens’ ability to learn who is contributing to the spending.
Gov. Steve Bullock and Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, have teamed up to help Montanans shed more light on the campaign finance deluge.
The Montana Disclose Act, Senate Bill 289, aims to close loopholes that some groups have used in attempts to spend large amounts of money to influence Montana elections without revealing the identity of their donors. This dark money almost always funds attack ads and other negative campaigning.
It isn’t surprising that the Democratic governor teamed up with the Republican senator to promote campaign transparency. Both Democrats and Republicans have been targeted by out-of-state groups and by Montana affiliates who don’t want to tell the public who they really represent.
Ankney, Bullock and many other Montanans seeking public office, have been targeted by groups that don’t want to reveal their funding sources. Ankney was blasted with a direct-mail smear campaign before the 2014 primary, an attack that he says his primary opponent had no part in. However, Ankney was forced to spend thousands of dollars on mailings to rebut the anonymous mudslinging.
SB289 would require virtually any group that spends money to support or oppose a candidate or ballot issue to report their donors and expenditures. Corporations and unions would all be held accountable.
“It calls these groups out and sheds some light on ’em,” Ankney explained. “I think Montanans want good elections. I don’t think they want out-of-state money in our elections.”
However SB289 won’t limit the money; instead, it will attempt to ensure disclosure so voters can make better informed decisions as they hear messages about candidates and ballot issues.
Ankney’s bill would require campaign finance reports for “electioneering communications” made within 60 days of when voting begins in any election. All groups that spend money to influence elections would be required to file reports, regardless of their federal tax status.
Ankney’s bill also has two other common-sense proposals that Legislative committee members already rejected once this session:
Authorizing the commissioner of political practices to require state district candidates (including legislative candidates) to file campaign finance reports electronically, as statewide candidates already are required to do.
Requiring all candidates to file campaign finance reports 35 days before an election because mail ballots go out 30 days before elections.
Electronic filing is a no-brainer. The electronic information is immediately available to the public online. Reports filed on paper forms must be scanned in page by page. Last year, it took about seven days to get paper reports online, Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl said.
The idea of campaign report filing before mail ballots go out recognizes that more Montanans are choosing to use mail ballots and early voting. Those early voters deserve to have access to updated campaign spending information before they cast their ballots.
We call on all Montana lawmakers who want to preserve the integrity of Montana elections to vote for the Montana Disclose Act. Transparency is ever more vital as more dark, independent and out-of-state money pours into our elections.
Sure, another report is another task for the candidate or spending group. But campaign finance law’s purpose is to serve the public, not the candidates or the spenders. Electronic filing and reporting before ballots go out are definitely steps in the public’s interest.
Bullock, who has spent four years grappling with the Citizens United decision as attorney general and governor, said “Montana will be blazing the trail” if the Legislature approves the Disclose Act. It’s time hit the trail to have transparency in the 2016 elections.
Senate-endorsed campaign finance bill aimed at 'dark money'
HELENA — A bipartisan coalition in the Montana Senate voted Thursday to pass a major campaign finance overhaul aimed at requiring so-called “dark money” groups to disclose their donors and how they spend money.
Senators voted 28-22 in favor of Senate Bill 289, by Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, on behalf of Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. It faces a final Senate vote Friday before moving to the House.
All 21 Senate Democrats voted for the bill, joined by seven Republicans — Sens. Ankney, Taylor Brown of Huntley, Ed Buttrey of Great Falls, Pat Connell of Hamilton, Llew Jones of Conrad, Rick Ripley of Wolf Creek and Bruce Tutvedt of Kalispell. Some of them have been victims of dark-money attacks in campaigns.
The bill would fight “dark money” by requiring all political organizations to fully disclose who’s donating money to their groups and how they are spending it in campaigns. Dark money is campaign spending by groups that don’t publicly report their donors or their spending.
Senators said these dark-money groups have been attacking legislative candidates for the past four election cycles without disclosing who is providing their money and where they are spending it.
“Basically, what this bill does is it says if you’re going to contribute to a campaign, you’re going to report,” Ankney said. “You get a contribution from your friend and neighbor, he’s required to give you his name, his address and his occupation. So why would people from out-of-state or in the shadows be any different?”
Some Republicans said the bill would have chilling effects on citizens of Montana and require groups to which they belong to file campaign reports.
Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, called the bill “a direct assault on the right to privacy.”
She said groups like associations and unions would have to disclose the names of their members, although others said that was not the case.
“We are saying to the citizens of Montana you don’t have the right to contribute to the causes you believe in,” said Sen. Eric Moore, R-Miles City, adding: “This bill has very little benefit and disastrous consequences to liberty and privacy."
Republican Senator Jones said the bill has nothing to do with groups like the Montana Stockgrowers Association or similar trade associations being forced to disclose members’ names.
“This is about those that truly intend to hide in the cloak of darkness,” he said. “This is a night we should not go quietly into.”
Montana elections have changed in the past decade, Jones said, with voters buried in attack mailers and advertisements from groups, and “we can’t truly determine who is paying the freight.”
Senate Minority Leader Jon Sesso, D-Butte, supported the bill.
“The business of dark money is insidious in our political process,” Sesso said. “If you know your enemy, you have a fighting chance. But if you don’t know who you’re fighting, you don’t have a fighting chance.”
Ankney closed for his bill by suggesting some of the criticism of the bill was not accurate.
“This ain’t gong to cut down the mudslinger,” he said, but it would allow him to find out who’s slinging mud and who finances these groups.
In reference to some of the criticism of the bill, Ankney said, “I see the fox saying, ‘Oh, leave the chicken house door open, because I won’t come in.’ That doesn’t work.”
Gazette opinion: A bipartisan push for Montana campaign transparency
When the U.S. Supreme Court opened the floodgates to virtually unlimited political spending, the court indicated that big money could talk all it wants because voters would still know who was doing the talking.
That’s not how elections are going.
The amount of money spent to influence Montana elections has outstripped citizens’ ability to learn who is contributing to the spending.
Gov. Steve Bullock and Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, have teamed up to help Montanans shed more light on the campaign finance deluge.
The Montana Disclose Act, Senate Bill 289, aims to close loopholes that some groups have used in attempts to spend large amounts of money to influence Montana elections without revealing the identity of their donors. This dark money almost always funds attack ads and other negative campaigning.
It isn’t surprising that the Democratic governor teamed up with the Republican senator to promote campaign transparency. Both Democrats and Republicans have been targeted by out-of-state groups and by Montana affiliates who don’t want to tell the public who they really represent.
Ankney, Bullock and many other Montanans seeking public office, have been targeted by groups that don’t want to reveal their funding sources. Ankney was blasted with a direct-mail smear campaign before the 2014 primary, an attack that he says his primary opponent had no part in. However, Ankney was forced to spend thousands of dollars on mailings to rebut the anonymous mudslinging.
SB289 would require virtually any group that spends money to support or oppose a candidate or ballot issue to report their donors and expenditures. Corporations and unions would all be held accountable.
“It calls these groups out and sheds some light on ’em,” Ankney explained. “I think Montanans want good elections. I don’t think they want out-of-state money in our elections.”
However SB289 won’t limit the money; instead, it will attempt to ensure disclosure so voters can make better informed decisions as they hear messages about candidates and ballot issues.
Ankney’s bill would require campaign finance reports for “electioneering communications” made within 60 days of when voting begins in any election. All groups that spend money to influence elections would be required to file reports, regardless of their federal tax status.
Ankney’s bill also has two other common-sense proposals that Legislative committee members already rejected once this session:
Authorizing the commissioner of political practices to require state district candidates (including legislative candidates) to file campaign finance reports electronically, as statewide candidates already are required to do.
Requiring all candidates to file campaign finance reports 35 days before an election because mail ballots go out 30 days before elections.
Electronic filing is a no-brainer. The electronic information is immediately available to the public online. Reports filed on paper forms must be scanned in page by page. Last year, it took about seven days to get paper reports online, Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl said.
The idea of campaign report filing before mail ballots go out recognizes that more Montanans are choosing to use mail ballots and early voting. Those early voters deserve to have access to updated campaign spending information before they cast their ballots.
We call on all Montana lawmakers who want to preserve the integrity of Montana elections to vote for the Montana Disclose Act. Transparency is ever more vital as more dark, independent and out-of-state money pours into our elections.
Sure, another report is another task for the candidate or spending group. But campaign finance law’s purpose is to serve the public, not the candidates or the spenders. Electronic filing and reporting before ballots go out are definitely steps in the public’s interest.
Bullock, who has spent four years grappling with the Citizens United decision as attorney general and governor, said “Montana will be blazing the trail” if the Legislature approves the Disclose Act. It’s time hit the trail to have transparency in the 2016 elections.
