After special interest groups spent $18 million in the 2014 governor’s race, campaign finance reformers are waiting with bated breath to see if a bill that curbs outside money in statewide elections is passed by the General Assembly. Crafted by the state Elections Enforcement Commission, the legislation is part of a logjam of bills on the calendar of the Democratically controlled state Senate, which has been noncommittal on its prospects. The initiative to bring greater transparency to expenditures by political action committees and nonprofit advocacy groups has state Democrats and Republicans accusing each other of undermining Connecticut’s clean-elections program.
“It’s such a roller-coaster ride,” said Joshua Foley, a staff attorney for the commission. “We’re told that it’s dead one day, and then it’s not the next.”
The legislation would create a new designation in the state’s campaign finance law known as “coordinated spenders,” who would be prohibited from making independent campaign expenditures through super PACs and 527 groups. The ban would apply to family members and former employees of candidates, as well as any affiliated political organizations created by candidates.
Full Article: Campaign finance reform bill languishes – Connecticut Post.