House Gives First-Round Approval to Campaign Finance Reform

A campaign finance reform bill receives preliminary approval in the House, but the top Democrat in the Chamber says it’s nothing to brag about. Majority Floor Leader Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) sponsors the bill that he says will help the public better understand what goes on at the Capitol. Candidates would have to filed electronically, so the public could review contributions and expenditures online. Only two caucuses would be allowed in the House and Senate, one for the majority party, one for the minority. The number of caucuses in the House has expanded greatly the past few years. The House now has 53 separate caucuses that are often recipients of meals paid by lobbyists. Lobbyists don’t have to list the representatives who attended the dinner and representatives don’t have to declare the meal on their disclosure reports. The bill would end the practice and require representatives to report the meals they receive on their individual reports. It would eliminate the fund-raising committees established by the Speaker and Speaker Pro-Tem. Minority Floor Leader Jeff Harris (D-Columbia) tells Dempsey it doesn’t go far enough. Harris calls it a bill of small ideas. Harris suggests the bill should ban gubernatorial appointments from contributing to political campaigns, prohibit campaign fund-raising during the legislative session and not allow lobbyists to pay for out-of-state travel. Those are contained in another bill filed by Harris. Dempsey suggests some of Harris’ ideas might be included in a separate, ethics bill that is to come before the House soon. Another positive vote sends the bill to the Senate which has passed its own campaign finance measure and sent it to the House.Dempsey’s bill is HB 1900. Harris’ bill is HB 2149