Thursday, November 7, 2019
Senate Passes Campaign Finance Reform Bill
Senate Passes Campaign Finance Reform Bill
Legislation Bolsters
Transparency and Accountability
BOSTON – The Massachusetts State Senate on Thursday unanimously
passed An Act relative to campaign
finance, sponsored by State Senator Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen), which
increases transparency and accountability in the Commonwealth’s elections by
reforming fiscal reporting requirements. The bill also establishes a commission to
study allowing the use of campaign funds for family-related care.
“Running for public office is one of the most exciting and impactful
steps you can take as a citizen in a democracy,” said Senate President Karen
E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “It is also a
lot of work. Massachusetts must ensure
that our campaign finance laws and reporting requirements are under constant
review to make certain that we are being as transparent as possible, while
opening up the possibility of running for office to more people.”
The depository reporting system, run through the Office of Campaign and
Political Finance (OCPF)—the independent state agency that administers
Massachusetts’ campaign finance law—directs candidates for public office to
submit to stringent campaign finance reporting requirements. Currently, the legislature and some mayoral
candidates are exempt from the law that requires statewide, county and many
other municipal candidates to use this reporting system. An Act relative to campaign finance seeks to remedy this disparity
by requiring all legislative and mayoral candidates in Massachusetts to
participate in the depository system.
“Nearly all candidates,
including statewide officers, county officers, Governor's Council, mayors and
councilors in cities over a population of 65,000, have participated in this
depository reporting system—with the exception of some mayoral and all
legislative candidates,” said DiZoglio.
“This landmark legislation enhances transparency and accountability in our
campaign finance law by requiring that bank statements are sent to OCPF and
that we disclose our sources of campaign contributions and expenditures much
more often for the public to see.”
“I’m
proud of the Senate for passing this campaign finance reform legislation
today,” said State Senator Barry R.
Finegold (D-Andover). “The depository system will lead to increased
transparency and uniformity, while minimizing the accidental errors in
reporting that often plague campaigns. Voters deserve to know how we get our
money as candidates and how we spend it, and the move to the depository system
will make all of that data more readily available.”
“Accurate reporting of
campaign donations and expenditures is critical for the integrity of our
elections and the public trust our democracy depends on,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr
(R-Gloucester). “This modernization of our reporting system will expand a
proven methodology to more candidates, and produce more timely and accurate
information about financial activity. “
By requiring all
legislative and mayoral candidates to participate in the depository reporting
system, this bill will increase accountability by requiring monthly reports
that disclose all campaign finance activity, in addition to reports filed by
their designated financial institution. Currently, filings for those presently
exempt from the depository system occur only two or three times a year. By increasing the filing frequency to 12 times
per year, the legislation seeks to increase transparency in statewide campaign
finance activity.
This revised process
will assist OCPF in identifying discrepancies between a candidate’s public
disclosure of campaign finance activity and their bank accounting records. It would also help OCPF promptly address issues
associated with data entry errors, missed deposits, balance issues and uncashed
checks. In addition, the change will
make it easier to see how much money a candidate is raising and spending during
the course of the entire election cycle.
During floor debate, an
amendment was debated that would establish the creation of a commission to study
the use of campaign funds for family-related activities such as child care and
caring for relatives with medical needs. The amendment passed unanimously.
“Campaigning is so hard
and has so many barriers, especially with family to care for,” said State Senator Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville).
“But, today we are starting the process to remove one more barrier by examining
whether candidates should be able to use donated funds to pay for family care
services during campaign activities. We must take bold steps to diversify our
elected office holders.”
The bill now returns to
the House for further consideration.
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