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StumbleDespite glaring holes in election law, campaign finance slow to change
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | 2 a.m.
Ross Miller
Sun coverage
Sun archives
- Rory Reid PAC scheme was clearly run out of his campaign, records show (4-18-2011)
- All but 15 lawmakers got PokerStars cash, report says; money being returned (4-18-2011)
- Rory Reid attorney: We disclosed everything with PACs, so it can’t be illegal (4-16-2011)
- Emails show orchestration of pass-through contributions to Rory Reid sham PACs (4-13-2011)
- PokerStars took lawmakers to Bahamas, England before Internet gaming bill introduced (4-7-2011)
- Rory Reid’s lawyer defends legality of contributions (3-11-2011)
- Rory Reid’s gubernatorial campaign circumvented contribution limits, created 91 shell PACs to infuse $750,000 into campaign (3-4-2011)
A candidate for governor created 91 political action committees to funnel money to his campaign. An online poker company, now under indictment, flew lawmakers to the Bahamas and London without any of the elected officials feeling the need to disclose the trip. And the same poker company spread around $300,000 in foreign campaign contributions to top state officials before introducing major legislation.
The high-profile cases have exposed glaring holes in the state’s election law, widely considered to be grossly lacking. But proposals in the 2011 Legislature to increase transparency are on uneasy footing, at best. And if lawmakers don’t reform campaign finance law this year, it’s fair to wonder if they ever will.
“Our campaign finance laws aren’t ranked last by every outside group without substantial reason,” Secretary of State Ross Miller said. “We’ve known about these problems for some time.”
Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, has proposed a bill to eliminate foreign campaign contributions, which is a violation of federal law but not specifically prohibited by state statute.
That bill is expected to pass unanimously thanks to the controversy surrounding PokerStars, an online poker company that was trying to get its business legalized in Nevada and attempted to aid that effort with trips and campaign donations.
But swift action on the foreign donations bill is the exception. Other measures to increase transparency are clinging to life.
Assembly Bill 452, sponsored by Miller, would require:
• Campaign contribution reports to be filed electronically, so they could then be searched. Many are handwritten and in unsearchable formats.
• The secretary of state would become the lone repository for all campaign reports. Some reports are filed with county election departments.
• Candidates would be required to file a report of contributions and expenses before early voting begins. About half of voters have cast ballots before the reports are due.
Assembly Democratic leadership added two provisions to the bill. The amendments strengthened the proposals, but also made them more controversial. The first requires a two-year cooling-off period for lawmakers pursuing work as lobbyists. The second mandates reporting of contributions and expenses of less than $100.
AB452 passed out of committee, 8-7.
Miller has two other campaign finance bills. One involves rules governing third-party expenditures, prompted by the creation of 91 political action committees by former gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid’s campaign to channel money to his campaign. But Miller and lawmakers are arguing about the language.
Other election reform bills have not been able to get a hearing.
Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, sponsored Senate Bill 206, which would require lobbyists to report their wining and dining of lawmakers between legislative sessions. Nevada law only requires lobbyists to disclose expenses during sessions, which occur for 120 days every other year.
Leslie said she had “no idea” if lawmakers are taking trips paid for by lobbyists. “No one knows,” she said. “That’s the point.”
As reported by Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston, Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, traveled with Commerce Committee Chairman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, to London last year at PokerStars’ expense. Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, also attended a conference in Nassau, Bahamas, paid for by PokerStars.
The company set up a political action committee in September that doled out $300,000 to lawmakers, including Miller, Horne, Atkinson, Horsford, Gov. Brian Sandoval and Reid.
Lawmakers said they planned to return the checks or donate the money to charity, although many said they were waiting on direction from their attorneys.
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I guess we should all be politicians so that we can get paid too!
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Isn't this really just another form of corruption ... ?
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Where's all the power concentrated?
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Where is a state lottery?
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Why do we give all this lottery cash to California
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Ola. Happy Lost Money Day
Finance campaign laws are meaningless except they keep avg Joe/Jane from running.
They will pass new laws.
The lawyers will figure a way around them.
They are useless.
Taking money and trips from foreign companies or individuals is corruption! This the lack of honesty and the ability to exersize good judgement. Elections have consquences.
The laws are their. They just are not enforced or ever prosecuted.
The easy way to plug the PAC hole that Rory Reid's campaign used is to restrict all direct contributions to a candidate or candidate's committee to be from eligible voters. PACs in theory are prohibited from coordinating their efforts with a candidate already, so this should pass constitutional muster as no restrictions are being placed on speech.