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Committee introduces broad campaign finance redraft (RS32357) after debate on limits and disclosure
Summary
Chairman Brent Crane presented RS32357, a 40-page campaign finance redraft that would consolidate statutes, change reporting frequency and raise individual contribution limits; members debated disclosure, pace and whether donation ceilings were set appropriately. The committee introduced the measure by voice vote.
Chairman Brent Crane, state representative from District 13 (Nampa) and chair of the House State Affairs Committee, presented RS32357, a multi-part redraft of Idaho campaign finance statutes.
Crane said the measure would consolidate reporting requirements into a single section of code, increase reporting frequency for certain political action committees and require more disclosure from groups making independent expenditures. “I am extremely concerned … about the out of state money that is being spent to influence the outcome of elections in Idaho,” Crane said. “People have figured out how to make money around politics and use candidates and use issues in order to further their agenda and to make money.”
Crane said the draft increases the per-election individual contribution limit for legislators from the current figures to $5,000 per election cycle, a change he said he was not certain was final: “We've upped that to $5,000 and I was just telling someone this morning, I'm not sure that we got that right. We may have got that number too high, but the attempt behind it was is to give the individual more power in this process.”
Representative Barbieri asked whether the redraft repeals or conflicts with existing law; Crane said the effort involves redrafting and will include some repeals as statutes are reorganized. Representative Dygert asked whether the bill changes donation amounts; Crane confirmed it does and acknowledged the committee may revisit the specific amounts during the two-week review he requested.
Representative Mickelson moved introduction of RS32357; the committee approved the motion by voice vote. Crane asked that the bill be allowed to percolate for two weeks so caucuses can review the draft and suggest changes.
Ending: The committee introduced RS32357 by voice vote and will hold the measure for further review and possible amendment during the two-week period.
