Bill proposes changes to campaign finance statutes

Candidates for public office would see increased campaign finance restrictions under a bill heard by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Jan. 25.

LB79, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery, would lower the threshold for reporting campaign finance expenditures from $250 to $100.

“I’ve worked on campaign finance laws over the past 20 years,” Avery said. “The argument I always hear is we don’t need to fight expenditures as much as we need more transparency and accountability.”

An additional provision would repeal the Campaign Finance Limitation Act, which recently was declared unconstitutional by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The bill also would require that all filings with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission be electronic as of Jan. 1, 2016. The development of the new electronic system would be funded by money already appropriated under the Campaign Finance Limitation Act.

Jack Gould, representing Common Cause Nebraska, supported the bill, saying the amount of cash involved in campaign expenditures needs to be accounted for.

“There’s a lot of cash floating around,” he said. “If you lower the rate, you’re exposing it more and making it more visible to the public.”

No one testified in opposition and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.