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Committee probes campaign-finance language, resists lowering PAC formation threshold to one person
Summary
Legislation would change campaign finance disclosure rules to capture individuals spending to influence elections; committee members expressed concern about a proposed change that would define a PAC as a single person and asked staff and the secretary of state to draft clearer definitions and thresholds.
Committee members reviewed suggested edits from the secretary of state’s office to the bill’s campaign finance provisions and discussed how to capture individuals, organizations or groups that spend money to influence elections without creating unintended new rules for political action committees.
The secretary of state proposed language — reviewed with the attorney general’s office — intended to ensure that individuals who expend funds to influence elections file disclosures. Staff summarized the secretary’s proposal in appendix 1 of the memo and noted the change would capture individuals and entities not currently filing.
Several senators objected to language that would change the definition of a political action committee (PAC) from “two or more persons” to “one person,” arguing that making it possible for a single individual to constitute a PAC would effectively lower the bar and complicate enforcement. One senator said the committee should make it harder, not easier, to create a PAC.
Members discussed lowering the dollar threshold for required reporting from $1,000 to $500 for some categories, and asked staff to draft clearer statutory definitions that capture the intended actors (persons or entities spending to influence an election) without treating one person as a PAC by default.
The chair directed Tim to work with the secretary of state’s office (and the attorney general’s office where appropriate) to produce clearer statutory language and definitions, and the committee agreed to maintain the $1,000 reporting frequency for now while staff refines the draft.
