Florida Legislature 2005 (click for ongoing coverage)

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Legislature approves more campaign cash

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published May 6, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Legislature voted Thursday to allow candidates for governor and Cabinet to raise millions more in campaign cash and still get tax money to help pay for their campaigns.

Under a bill sent to Gov. Jeb Bush, future candidates for governor could spend $20-million, with half of that amount paid by taxpayers. Cabinet candidates could spend up to $10-million, with about half from taxpayers.

The new limit for a single gubernatorial candidate would be more than the combined total of $19.2-million that Bush and Democrat Bill McBride spent in 2002.

The bill also allows political parties to give up to $250,000 to statewide candidates, a fivefold increase over current law. Parties could continue to spend unlimited sums to help candidates indirectly, with staffing, travel, polls and consultants. Bush has said he supports both changes, meaning the higher limits will be in place for the 2006 election, when Floridians will elect a new governor and fill three Cabinet seats.

"That's just a drop in the bucket - $250,000 from the party to help a candidate," Bush said. "Twenty-million? I think that that's reasonable as well."

Bush said he hoped candidates would follow his example and reject public money, but doubted that would happen.

Republicans who pushed for the changes said elections already are dominated by expensive 30-second ads, making higher spending caps long overdue in a state with 10 television markets.

"Without public campaign financing, there is no cap on political spending," said Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs. "It's there for the very purpose of providing some limitation."

Democrats, who are out of power in Tallahassee and have not raised nearly as much money as Republicans, predicted Florida campaigns will only get more expensive, with taxpayers underwriting negative TV ads.

"We've just done everything to obliterate and destroy any modicum of integrity in our campaign finance system," said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach.

Democrats also complained that the changes were never heard in a legislative committee. Instead, an amendment emerged a week ago and was quickly embraced by legislative leaders.

Florida created a public financing system for statewide campaigns in 1991 to give low-budget candidates a fighting chance against well-heeled opponents. The cap on matching donations is $6.7-million for candidates for governor.

The changes were added to an elections bill (HB 1567) requiring the state to create a statewide voter registration system. The bill had to pass for Florida to qualify for more than $158-million in federal voter education funds.

Ben Wilcox of Common Cause Florida complained that increasing party donations to candidates will inject more big-money donations, known as soft money, directly into campaigns.

"It's a move in the wrong direction if you're interested in reducing the effect of money in politics," Wilcox said.

But supporters said it reflects the reality of modern campaigning. "If you're going to have public financing, give (candidates) enough money. It's the cost of TV that's driving this," said Richard Pinsky, a Republican strategist who supports Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher for governor.

Another provision, added on orders of Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, bans parties from taking in-kind donations that don't benefit parties. Senators said they wanted to stop lobbyists from using the parties to funnel Super Bowl tickets, airplane trips and other expensive gifts to legislators.

The Senate passed the bill Wednesday 33-5. The House approved it 77-38, with two Republicans voting no: Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, and Rep. Everett Rice, R-Treasure Island.

Rice is considering running for attorney general in 2006 and would be eligible for public financing. Two other lawmakers seeking that post, Rep. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, voted for the changes.

House members debated a second elections bill (HB 1589) that critics said places new restrictions on early voting, which was popular and chaotic in 2004, with long lines at many polling places.

The bill limits early voting to no more than eight hours a day in the two weeks before an election and prohibits early voting on the day before an election.

Republicans said the changes would ensure uniformity in early voting in every county, but Democrats accused them of trying to depress turnout in urban areas with concentrations of liberal voters.

The Senate passed the bill Wednesday. The House delayed a final vote until today, the last day of the 2005 Legislature.

Times staff writer Lucy Morgan contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 6, 2005, 00:39:12]