Chandler legislator cites ’50s NAACP case in defense of campaign finance overhaul By Howard Fischer CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
The state House gave final approval last week to a major overhaul of campaign finance laws, including allowing individuals to spend unlimited amounts of money to help raise cash for candidates they like and never have to disclose that to the public. On a 31-27 vote largely along party lines, lawmakers agreed to scrap the $100 cap on what people can spend in tickets, food and liquor for fundraisers for candidates. SB 1516 also eliminates existing law that requires groups spending money to influence elections to register first with the state. It also would allow candidates with large campaign war chests to transfer money to others. And the measure, which now goes to the governor even allows groups to spend unlimited amounts, including corporate dollars, to try to change state law while leaving voters in the dark about who is behind the campaign. “I think transparency is a good principle,” said Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, the prime proponent of the legislation. “But it is not the overarching principle.” He cited a 1950s case where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state of Alabama could not
force the NAACP to disclose its members in order to do business in the state because it could lead to harassment of those members. Mesnard said donors to “dark money” groups are entitled to the same protection, suggesting the government would go after those whose views it does not like. “We have a right to speech, which our money is speech,” Mesnard said. “We have a right to privacy in those associations.” But Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, noted that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in
the 2010 Citizens United ruling opening the door to corporate donations, said nothing in that decision precludes states from forcing groups seeking to influence elections to disclose their donors. “Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed,” Scalia wrote. “For my part, I do not look forward to a society which, thanks to the Supreme Court, campaigns anonymously and even exercises the direct democracy of initiative and referendum hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism.” Clark, who led the opposition, focused much of his concern on what he called the “kingmaker” provision allowing inter-candidate transfers. Clark said that permits the person with the money — especially a party leader or other elected official — to exercise undue influence over other legislators. Those transfers were made illegal as part of a 1986 voter-approved rewrite of campaign finance laws. And Rep. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, who was in the Legislature before the change, said she saw how that worked. She said rank-and-file Republican lawmak-
ers were called into the office of Burton Barr, who was the House majority leaders and who also had one of the largest campaign finance treasuries in the state. Davis said those lawmakers said they were told that funding for their reelection campaign was linked to voting for a particular piece of legislation that GOP leadership wanted. Mesnard said he didn’t see the big deal. He said the recipients of the money would still have to disclose who gave them the cash. But Davis pointed out that campaign finance reports would contain only the name of the other politician who provided the cash. What it would not show, she said, is where that politician got his or her cash. • Follow Howard Fischer on Twitter @azcapmedia.
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