Attorney General Reintroduces Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform Legislation to Combat Pay-to-Play Politics

WASHINGTON, D. C. – As the Council of the District of Columbia begins a new period, Attorney General Karl A. Racine has reintroduced comprehensive legislation aimed at reducing both the appearance and reality of pay-to-pay politics in the District of Columbia. The Campaign Finance Transparency and Accountability Amendment Act, originally introduced in the last Council period, is designed to address concerns that the Attorney General has heard from District residents since he took office.

“District residents have made it clear that they are sick and tired of the appearance of pay-to-play politics, and I have again introduced this legislation in an effort to reform our laws while respecting constitutional limits,” Attorney General Racine said. “This proposal adds significant disclosure requirements and would make our campaign-finance laws among the strongest and most transparent in the nation. While this legislation did not move forward during the last Council period, we appreciate that then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Kenyan McDuffie held a hearing, and we believe now is the time to move forward with these reforms. We look forward to working on this with the new Council in 2017.”

The legislation contains provisions that would:

  • Sever any connection between contributions and significant business with the District;
  • Close a loophole allowing unlimited donations to a political action committee outside of election years;
  • Ensure that independent expenditures truly are independent of candidates and campaigns;
  • Strengthen disclosure requirements to increase transparency in the donations process;
  • Limit a public official’s use of employees to solicit or accept contributions;
  • Require board and commission members to undergo ethics training; and
  • Accomplish each of these reforms in a way that honors the protections of the First Amendment as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

Severing Connections between Donations and Significant Business with the District
The bill focuses on what it calls “doing business with the District” – large contracts, grants, tax abatements, and agreements to acquire, sell, or lease land or a building. These are the type of business dealings that raise the strongest concerns about the appearance of pay-to-play corruption.

Building off of previous legislation proposed by Chairman Mendelson and prior proposals from OAG, this bill would render anyone ineligible to engage in these types of high-value business dealings with the District if they:

  • Contributed to a candidate or elected official who could influence or award any of these types of business;
  • Contributed to any political committee or PAC affiliated with that candidate or official; or
  • Contributed to constituent services funds or to certain individuals or organizations closely tied to such a candidate or official.

This ineligibility would last for two years following the election for which the contribution was made. Anyone seeking to “do business with the District” would need to certify that he or she has been in compliance with District pay-to-play laws, and the District would be forbidden from “doing business with” anyone who was ineligible to “do business with the District.”

Walling Candidates off from PACs and Strengthening Disclosure Rules
OAG’s legislation also defines the term “coordination” broadly to ensure candidates are truly separated from PACs. This will require candidates, elected officials, affiliated committees, and their agents to wall themselves off from PACs and independent expenditure committees. It does so by borrowing both from previous legislation offered by Councilmember Silverman and from federal regulations. Candidates, officials, committees, and agents would not be allowed to encourage anyone to donate to an independent expenditure committee or a PAC. PACs and independent expenditure committees would have to certify that, to the best of their knowledge and after due diligence, they have not received any donations that were coordinated with any candidate, official, political committee, or political party. Moreover, any expenditure coordinated with a candidate, campaign, or agent would be treated as a contribution to that candidate or campaign. And for spending that remains truly independent, the bill requires more stringent disclosure to ensure the public knows the money’s source.

Closing the PAC Loophole
OAG’s bill also closes a significant PAC loophole. Under current District regulations, restrictions on giving to a PAC do not apply “during any calendar year in which the committee is not supporting candidates in either a primary or general election” (3 DCMR § 3011.33). Consequently, a PAC could collect unlimited donations in non-election years, even for political contributions. OAG’s bill repeals this exemption.

Other Provisions
The legislation would also narrow the ability of designated District government employees to solicit and receive political contributions, and it would require board and commission members to receive ethics training from the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.

A copy of the Campaign Finance Transparency and Accountability Amendment Act of 2017 is attached.

Attachments