Cloaked fundraising draws Byrd's scrutiny

The house speaker joins the governor and others calling for the reform of "committees of continuous existence."

TALLAHASSEE - House Speaker Johnnie Byrd is joining the drive to examine a campaign finance loophole that allows some lawmakers to get unlimited donations from people they don't have to name.

Byrd, a Republican from Plant City who will begin his second session in charge of the House on Tuesday, sent a letter over the weekend to two other lawmakers asking them to write legislation that would address "committees of continuous existence."

The committees have gone largely under the campaign finance radar, allowing sitting lawmakers to raise large amounts of money to fund their ambitions to leadership posts within the Legislature. For example, the expected next speaker, Rep. Allan Bense, R-Panama City, was allowed to raise money in unlimited amounts to support his bid. Bense would mostly use the money to support other candidates who might support him for speaker.

Gov. Jeb Bush and leaders in the Senate have already suggested revamping the system to require lawmakers using the committees to report the names of donors. Currently, they can be kept secret, although many lawmakers have released lists of contributors.

Byrd asked the House Procedures Committee to consider whether the committees should report their contributions in more detail.

Bush said in early February that the committees should be more transparent. Senate Democrats suggested the committees should be eliminated.

In his letter, Byrd also suggested lawmakers may want to limit the amount legislators seeking leadership posts can collect through the funds.

"Should we limit dues payments to CCEs?" Byrd wrote to Bense, and Rep. Lindsay Harrington, R-Punta Gorda. "If so, what should be the limit?"

Byrd also wants lawmakers to look at whether groups that run issue ads that don't expressly support or oppose a candidate should be required to report the contributions they receive and how they spend their money.

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