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Florida Legislature 2005 (click for ongoing coverage)

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Lawmakers pitch for bigger donations

Republicans in the state Legislature want to change laws to dramatically increase caps on contributions to candidates.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published April 27, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - As a crowded race for governor takes shape, Republicans in the state Legislature want to change campaign finance laws to allow more unregulated contributions in statewide races.

One change to be considered by the House today would allow political parties to directly contribute $250,000 to a statewide candidate, a five-fold increase over the existing cap of $50,000.

Another change would allow candidates for governor to spend $20-million before qualifying for public campaign financing, a four-fold leap over the current $5-million.

The current spending cap is designed to prevent one lavishly financed candidate from overwhelming all opponents.

Both changes are being promoted by Republicans, who control the Legislature and every statewide office that would be affected by the higher limits. The Republicans raised 10 times as much money in the past three months as the Democrats, a trend that is expected to continue through the next election cycle.

Republicans say the changes are needed because the cost of elections keeps going up. In the governor's race in 2002, Jeb Bush and Bill McBride raised more than $19.2-million - a record - with millions more spent on their behalf by their parties and others.

"Times have changed," said House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, noting that the existing caps have been in effect for more than a decade. "The cost of buying ads in your newspapers, television and radio is tremendously expensive now."

Some Republicans defend the changes as a necessary counterweight to the growing influence of well-funded but shadowy campaign committees known as 527s, after the relevant section of the IRS code. The 527s have spend vast sums of money on TV ads in statewide and national races and have become a growing force in local legislative contests as well.

But a Democratic lawmaker and an advocate of campaign finance reform both criticized the proposals as another example of big money dwarfing the voices of voters in elections.

"It's an obscene attempt to empower political parties to control the process," said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Dania Beach.

"The goal of public financing is to hold down the cost of elections, and they're basically allowing a huge increase in spending," said Ben Wilcox of Common Cause Florida. "It allows a lot more soft money into the system."

Direct contributions to candidates are limited to $500 in Florida, but individuals, companies and labor unions can make unlimited "soft money" donations to political parties. By increasing party contributions to candidates, Wilcox contends, it will be more difficult to track the source of support.

Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said the increase in the amount parties can give candidates is overdue, and he called $250,000 in a statewide campaign "a spit in the ocean." But Lee said he was "conflicted" about increasing limits before public financing kicks in, because it does not encourage a candidate to limit spending.

"I really don't like seeing the spending caps increase," Lee said. "The caps have a way of holding down the ability of candidates to buy elections."

The House will consider adding the campaign-law changes to an elections bill (HB 1589) sponsored by Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs. The changes are sponsored by Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, chairman of the House Ethics & Elections Committee.

The same changes are being sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who cited the rising costs of ads, gasoline and hired help to justify the increase.

Perhaps tellingly, the Republican Party of Florida enthusiastically supports the proposed changes, calling them overdue. The Florida Democratic Party is studying the changes and has taken no position, a spokeswoman said.

Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox plans to announce a candidacy for statewide office in the next couple of weeks, and he is widely expected to run for governor.

That would make him the third major Democrat to run for governor, in addition to three prominent Republicans.

"We're cognizant that the costs of reaching voters in a state that's growing at the rate Florida is growing is skyrocketing," said Republican spokesman Joseph Agostini. "The current caps may not be sufficient to reach out to all the voters."

The House did pass and send to the Senate on Tuesday an elections bill that every Republican supported and every Democrat opposed. That bill would impose new restrictions on early voting, which was popular but chaotic in 2004. Many more people showed up to vote early than election supervisors expected, resulting in long lines and short tempers at some sites. Supervisors wanted the flexibility to extend early voting to more locations, but the House refused.

The bill (HB 1567) would continue early voting for two weeks before an election, but limit it to elections offices, city halls and libraries.

The bill also would require election supervisors to request permission from Secretary of State Glenda Hood, Florida's chief elections official, before adding additional sites less than 30 days before an election.

Democrats oppose the measure because it would make it harder to file lawsuits challenging election-law provisions and require more voters to vote by provisional ballot if their eligibility is challenged.

[Last modified April 27, 2005, 00:47:14]