Utah Legislature: House rejects campaign spending limits

SALT LAKE CITY — At least for the time being, the sky will remain the limit on political spending in Utah.

On Wednesday, the House passed a wildly revised bill that initially would have placed some limits on donations to individual campaigns, political parties and groups such as political action and issues committees. But instead, lawmakers chose to nix spending caps and institute new electronic financial reporting requirements for political players.

The move effectively eliminates the main thrust of a package of suggestions put together by the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy, a group formed in 2009 by former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. The diverse, bipartisan 19-member group was tasked with finding improvements to, and elevating, the state political system to one that voters "can believe in and that works for the benefit of all," according the panel's mission statement.

Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne, said he was forced to revamp HB329 after lawmakers uncovered a fatal flaw in mandating finance limits, one that had to do with the redistribution of funds from state groups with national affiliations. Improving reporting requirements, including mandating timely electronic filing, was the next best option, Ferry said while presenting his proposal on the House floor.

"This bill as you see it before you is about transparency," he said. He described it as one that was "trying to clean things up."

While presented as a secondary solution, the new reporting requirements, in lieu of financial limits, are aligned with the stated preference of Gov. Gary Herbert. The measure is also one that keeps Utah among only a handful of states that function without campaign limits; 45 states currently have at least some caps in place.

Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake, made a last-ditch attempt to substitute Ferry's bill with another version that would have brought the democracy commission's suggestions back, including a $10,000 limit every election cycle for statewide races; $5,000 for legislative races; and $40,000 every two years for political parties. But he could not garner support for the move. He argued putting some limits in place could only help to send a positive message to voters.

"There is an inherent ability of large amounts of money to corrupt the integrity of the political process that we cherish," King said.