The Independent View: State and Local Efforts to Control Political Contributions

Efforts to rein in money in politics might be considered dead on arrival in Congress since a Supreme Court decision opened the door to unlimited contributions to allies of presidential hopefuls. But in statehouses and city halls across the country, reform efforts are gaining traction.

From the conservative statehouse in Texas to the liberal city council in Philadelphia, measures aimed at curbing the flow of political money or disclosing its sources are being introduced and supported by members of both parties. Overall, more than 125 bills dealing with campaign finance reform have been introduced in 33 statehouses in the past five months, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. More have been introduced in cities as well.

A major bipartisan win for reform advocates came in April when Montana’s Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock worked with the GOP-controlled Legislature to pass a bill requiring all groups, including 501(c)(4)s to disclose their donors if they spend money on targeting or supporting a candidate within 60 days of an election.

Politicians on the state and local level, many of whom are afraid an outside group could fund a primary opponent against them, point to polls that show overwhelming support for campaign finance reform. A recent New York Times/CBS poll found that 85 percent of those surveyed believe the system for funding political campaigns needs either “fundamental changes” or a complete overhaul. Based on the same poll, Republicans were almost as likely as Democrats to favor further restrictions on campaign contributions.

On the federal level, since the Supreme Court opened the door to unlimited giving in the Citizens United v. FEC ruling, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has remained staunchly against efforts to limit political contributions, making it harder to garner GOP support on the issue.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continues to blast the Koch brothers in floor speeches, and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has raised the issue on the campaign trail. But in the absence of any hope for reform, Democrats are joining Republicans in raising big money, limiting the recent flurry of activity on the issue to states and cities.

- Maryland - GOP Gov. Larry Hogan recently signed a bill to maintain the state’s public financing system after being the state’s first governor to be elected using it.

- Rhode Island - Gov. Gina Raimondo signed four bills strengthening the state’s campaign finance reporting laws.

- Maine - Reform advocates have gathered enough signatures to put an initiative on November’s ballot that would increase the amount of money available to publicly funded candidates and require all outside groups to list its top three donors in ads and mailers.

- Philadelphia Board of Ethics - Advanced a bill requiring all groups to disclose their donors and expenditures and could go into effect as early as July 1.

A new group, Take Back Our Republic, formed by John Pudner, who served as a political consultant to David Brat, the academic who ousted former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, is also trying to bring more conservatives on board with reform efforts. The group launched 17 chapters in states across the country this month.

Pudner said there’s a lot more resistance from Republicans within the Beltway on the issue compared to the rest of the country. “It seems to be the more conservative members who are most concerned,” he said, adding that the issue has created a “true left-right coalition” in many places.

Dale Eisman, spokesman for Common Cause, which has state chapters pushing for campaign finance reform across the country, pointed to polls showing strong support for at least disclosure, if not other campaign finance reforms, to explain recent GOP support.