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STEVE BOUSQUETThe governor and two top lawmakers want legislation to prevent lawmakers from hiding contributions to fundraising groups.
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush and two key legislators spoke with one voice Tuesday in demanding full disclosure of contributions by special interests to fundraising groups controlled by ambitious lawmakers.
Working with Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, and Republican Rep. Allan Bense of Panama City, Bush said they would push for legislation in the upcoming session to forbid lawmakers from hiding contributions. Lee and Bense have been chosen as the next leaders of the Senate and House in November.
"If you're willing to put your money where your mouth is, you should also be willing to show your face in the process," Bush said.
In the past few years, more than two dozen lawmakers raised $3-million through the funds, a St. Petersburg Times analysis showed. More than $1-million of the money was secret even to the IRS, which requires donors to be identified.
In the face of mounting criticism from Bush and others, most lawmakers have revealed the donors.
The three Republicans stopped short of criticizing the fundraising committees themselves. Nor did they favor strict limits on the size of contributions the committees can take, an idea advanced by a Republican-controlled Senate four years ago.
Rather, the three leaders said disclosure would help voters decide whether an official is compromised by big-money donations.
"As long as there's this type of disclosure," Bush said, "I think it brings about more reform than any other element of campaign finance reform. People can make up their own minds. They're smart enough to know."
Said Bense: "I don't like shadow groups. I think everyone should be out here in the light of day and be seen."
The funds targeted by Bush and legislative leaders have multiplied in recent years among lawmakers running for Senate president or House speaker.
Lee said he favors "the most aggressive reforms" of campaign laws that can survive constitutional challenge, including strict limits on soft-money donations to those funds or to political parties. But Lee said chances of soft-money limits were slim.
"It (the money) will get into the system, and it will find its way into the campaign cycle," Lee said.
Ben Wilcox of Common Cause, a government watchdog group, said he was glad to see a renewed focus on campaign finance reform. But he said the suggested changes are too modest to diminish the basic problem of large, soft-money donations by special interests to influence legislation.
"They're doing that for favorable returns in terms of legislation or deregulation or tax cuts," Wilcox said.
Democratic Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell of Fort Lauderdale praised Bush for pushing for disclosure, but said limits on soft money are needed.
The cry for openness comes as the committees proliferate, heavily fortified by large soft-money contributions from health care companies, utilities and lobbyists. Some donations are as large as $50,000 - 100 times the maximum donation to a lawmaker's re-election.
A committee called Floridians for Accountable Government raised $126,000 in November and December. Its beneficiary, Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla of Miami, hopes to become Senate president in 2008. He said he supports the governor's plan.
Of the money reported, $50,000 was given by AT&T in three checks in mid December. The utility successfully lobbied lawmakers last year for an increase in local telephone rates. Diaz de la Portilla said he's had a relationship with AT&T for eight years, since he did advertising for the company in Miami-Dade County.
Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, has raised $22,500 for the Foundation for Leadership Integrity, and Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, reported a single donation of $5,000 from Rinker-Materials for his fund, called Floridians to Defend the Constitution.
A committee called Focus on Floridians Future has raised $24,000 since October to benefit Rep. Kim Berfield, R-Clearwater. Most of that money came from insurance interests, such as Mutual Benefits Corp. of Fort Lauderdale. Berfield holds sway over the insurance industry as chairwoman of the House Insurance Committee.
Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, formed the Committee for Effective Florida Leadership, which has raised $10,450.
Those lawmakers are voluntarily disclosing their contributors. But some are not.
Rep. Don Brown, R-De Funiak Springs, has raised $45,800 through the Committee for Florida's Economic Future, headed by his wife. Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, has raised $25,100 through the Fund for Florida's Future. Neither identifies contributors.
The Committee for Responsible Leadership, linked to Rep. Stan Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, took in $2,000 in October from an unnamed "gold member."
"The public sees that kind of thing and it just feeds their cynicism about government," said Wilcox.