Campaign finance loophole should be closed

A new campaign finance loophole in Utah has sprung up, and it should be closed as soon as possible.

Deseret News investigative reporter Lee Davidson and I stumbled upon what could become a standard operation of top GOP and Democratic incumbents' fundraising, a way to keep secret much of their campaign contributions until after party nominating conventions and primaries.

And in so many areas of the state — where Republicans or Democrats win without any real competition — the current loophole in campaign finance reporting could mean incumbents are renominated and, thus, re-elected with little meaningful campaign finance reporting.

In looking at GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s preconvention filing, Davidson and I realized that much of Huntsman's re-election campaign money came from the governor's political action committee — 92 percent of his campaign cash so far this year.

Since under Utah law PACs have different filing deadlines than personal campaign committees, where that 92 percent of his campaign cash came from was unclear.

Huntsman, I'm glad to say, upon hearing of our complaint, immediately made public his PAC fundraising from January to now. But legally he didn't have to do that.

All PACs' first reporting deadline is the end of August in election years. Personal candidate campaign accounts must report at year end, then seven days before the party convention where the candidate stands, and again seven days before the primary election.

Thus, Huntsman and other state officers, including legislators, had to file a campaign report showing money raised and spent since the first of this year before their conventions in April or May. But if they have a PAC, they don't have to report those transactions until early September.

You see the problem.

If a state officeholder or candidate has a PAC that is doing much of his campaign fundraising, he can avoid disclosing where those monies are coming or going until late summer in an election year — well after the party's late spring conventions and the June primaries.

Now, so far it looks like only Huntsman had his PAC contributing most of his campaign finances this year. But others could have.

For example, House Speaker Greg Curtis has more than $100,000 in his own personal PAC. But his new campaign finance report shows he didn't transfer any of that over to his campaign account this year.

There are several groups of legislators who have combined to raise money in a joint PAC — the Conservative Caucus in the Utah House and the Fab Five group, who are also Republicans in the House.

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, run a PAC that is supposed to help GOP lawmakers and candidates in Utah County.

Recent comments