Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

'Real ethics reform' fundraising bill advances in Senate

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published April 7, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - The Senate on Thursday advanced a bill that clamps down on fundraising by politicians and requires more disclosure by groups that use ads to sway voters.

Senate President Tom Lee, R-Valrico, is the driving force behind the bill, which includes changes pushed by both parties. After a unanimous vote in the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee, senators said the bill is more far-reaching than the recent ban on free meals, drinks and gifts from lobbyists.

"This is real ethics reform," said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. "We're hitting a much larger target than we hit when we passed the gift ban."

The bill would prohibit the governor, Cabinet members, lawmakers and candidates for those offices from "directly or indirectly" soliciting large, unregulated donations from special interests and funneling the money to committees they control.

The committees allow politicians to bypass the $500 limit on campaign contributions and create lavish slush funds to pay for travel, meals and other expenses.

Some lawmakers have accepted up to $50,000 from those with a stake in pending legislation.

The bill (SB 716) also bars officeholders and candidates from soliciting funds to charity groups known as 501(c)4 organizations, including the Florida Hispanic Legislative Caucus and the Florida Conference of Black Legislators.

Gov. Jeb Bush also would be affected by the bill, because he has solicited large contributions to a nonprofit group, the Foundation for Florida's Future, which he created to promote his education agenda. The bill would bar officials from soliciting money for such groups. Bush promised that any priority of Lee's would get serious consideration.

"Heck, I'm going to keep an open mind," Bush said. "Anything that's attached to the leadership of the House or Senate is going to get my attention. I can promise you that."

The proposal also imposes stricter reporting deadlines on groups known as electioneering communication organizations, which run ads or mail campaigns that seek to sway voters without directly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate.

Those groups would have to reveal names of contributors much sooner and more often than now and would be required to have a real street address, not a mail drop or post office box.

The 2004 election cycle featured a wide variety of such groups, flooding voters' mailboxes with direct-mail pitches whose authors were mysterious.

Working under names such as "People for Fairness and Equality" and "People for a Better Florida," the groups were funded by sugar growers and home builders, among others.

Ron Meyer, an attorney who represents the groups, said he was concerned about the law placing a "burden on speech" for groups that seek to have a voice in the political process.

--Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or 850 224-7263.

[Last modified April 7, 2006, 01:31:16]