There are many important and worthy priorities for the current Legislature: education, state employee retention, the dividend and budget (as always), etc. However, they should not forget to finish their work on the state’s campaign finance law.
The bills are currently known as SSHB36 in the House, sponsored by Rep. Calvin Schrage, and SB17, sponsored by Sen. Scott Kawasaki.
These bills await hearings in their respective chambers’ State Affairs committees. Why is this most important? Because the voters have repeatedly voted and polled as being in favor of limits, and because we know that money can have a corrupting influence; the more of it, the greater the risk.
Even the appearance of influence is concerning. Every election cycle, voters are bombarded with flyers, phone calls and billboards fueled by vast amounts of money. It is having the opposite effect of engaging citizens, but rather of disengaging them as they tire of the onslaught and become disgusted with the excessive spending targeted at them. Every election cycle, potential candidates must consider raising money, and incumbents spend far too much time having to chase after money. Evidence collected since 2010 is showing us that those with the most money do not necessarily win, but the desire to influence elections continues.
Most persons, regardless of their political affiliation, have agreed with this, yet many of our elected officials turn a blind eye. They argue that there is no sense in putting limits on state elections when the federal law allows unlimited spending by independent groups, such as PACs. The courts have ruled that placing reasonable limits to reduce the risk of corruption is allowable. We must assert that states do have the right and call for Congress to take action to once again allow for regulation at the federal level. In the meantime, there are good reasons why a strong campaign finance bill is a must pass for this legislative session.
For more information, check out www.akmovetoamend.org and let your voice be heard by contacting these committee chairs (Sen. Kawasaki is the chair for the Senate, Rep. Laddie Shaw is Chair for the House) and demand hearings, and let your elected representatives know you want action taken to pass campaign finance legislation in the 33rd Alaska State Legislature.
Beverly Churchill
Anchorage
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