Topeka ? A group of Kansas lobbyists Tuesday urged state leaders to push for campaign finance reform aimed at providing more public disclosure.

“The fact is, current Kansas law is a bit of a joke,” Shelby Smith wrote in a letter to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, House Speaker Doug Mays and Senate President-elect Steve Morris.

“We owe Kansas taxpayers accurate and timely information about the election process, the basic exercise of our democracy.”

Smith was writing on behalf of lobbyists John Bottenberg, Dina Fisk, Jim Maag and John Pinegar, who have formed a group in support of reforms adopted by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission.

The proposals were approved by the commission after numerous complaints arose in the last election cycle about groups funneling to candidates funds that either couldn’t be traced or were disclosed long after the election.

The commission recommended:

• Requiring political action and party committees to detail which candidates they supported or opposed and the amount of money spent on that effort. Currently, PACs and party committees do not have to report the name of any candidate they make an expenditure on behalf of when filing a report.
• Requiring any contribution in excess of $50 during the last 11 days before an election be reported within 24 hours. Currently, those expenditures made close to the election are not required to be disclosed until after the election.

Kansans left in dark about political donors (08-22-04)/a>

• Requiring that recorded telephone campaign messages identify who is paying for or sponsoring the communication. Currently, there is no requirement for this identification.
• Requiring disclosure of contributions of $100 or more for so-called issue ads that identify a candidate. Currently, issue ads are exempt from disclosure.

The lobbyist group also said it endorsed mandatory electronic filing of campaign finance reports.

“Kansas enjoys a clean and otherwise open culture of responsible and responsive government,” Smith said. “A big window of opportunity is open to correct a glaring failure in our campaign finance laws.”