Campaign finance reform bill clears Senate
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By Michael Wright
Community News Service
UM School of Journalism
HELENA — Governor Steve Bullock got a win late last week, as one of his campaign finance reform proposals narrowly cleared the Senate.
Senate Bill 289, carried by Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, would require more groups and individuals to report their spending in political campaigns, and adds another reporting period for candidates. It’s aimed at shedding light on so-called “dark money” groups.
Ankney said the bill would force some who send out attack ads to show themselves, which Ankney said is only fair.
“Civility, that ain’t gonna improve. Civility? Hell, I ain’t civil. That’s not going to cut that down. And I don’t want it to. That’s part of our process. What I don’t believe in is a person’s ability to come after me without me knowing who it is,” Ankney said.
Sen. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, said dark money has flowed freely into Montana elections over the past few cycles because of the state’s small population.
“We’re the cheapest date out,” Jones said, noting last fall’s Stanford and Dartmouth experiment, in which the two schools sent out 100,000 mailers as part of research project. Montanans received a voter guide in the mail that showed which rated non-partisan Supreme Court candidates on how conservative or liberal they were.
Other Republicans weren’t convinced. Sen. Eric Moore, R-Miles City, said the bill would have “disastrous consequences to liberty and privacy” because it requires more people to publicly disclose their political beliefs.
“In our society there are consequences for political beliefs,” Moore said. As an example, Moore said people might be afraid they’ll lose customers at their businesses if they share their political leanings.
Other Republicans against the bill said it would increase the cost of running for office.
Despite the opposition, the bill passed 28-22.
