Senate passes campaign finance bill

April 02, 2010

Sen. John Coghill said he feared the disclaimers would just add noise instead of meaningful content, but still voted for the bill. (Daniel Hernandez/KTUU-DT)

by Ted Land
Thursday, April 1, 2010

JUNEAU, Alaska -- The state Senate Wednesday passed a bill that would toughen campaign finance laws.

The bill, which found bipartisan support, would require notice of who or what is funding political ads on television or in the newspaper.

The bill is in response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, which allows groups to spend freely to support or oppose candidates or causes.

The next state election is about five months away, and lawmakers are moving fast to make sure that campaigns are more transparent.

"Both (Legislative Legal Services) and the attorney general told us we have to do something. We have to pass some bill to cover this now big open gap in our laws," said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage.

Senate Bill 284 would require political ads funded by corporations, unions, or other groups, to reveal their top five contributors.

For television and radio ads, a voice would read out the financial backers. In print ads, the names would be printed.

"Keep in mind that this bill does not change the way we candidates operate, it changes only these new communications brought by corporations and unions," French said.

Sen. John Coghill, D-North Pole, is concerned the disclaimers might get tiresome.

"What happens is people quit listening to that. And I'm afraid what's going to happen under this is we're going to not actually get good reporting, but we're going to have a lot of noise," he said.

Nonetheless, Coghill and 18 others voted in favor of bill, which appears to have widespread support.

The proposal also requires groups to report their spending to the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

It's now on to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Contact Ted Land at tland@ktuu.com

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