Topeka — A little more than two months after a bruising election cycle, lawmakers today introduced legislation aimed at providing greater and more timely disclosure of groups trying to influence voters.
The proposals by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission were laid out before a Senate committee.
State Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, made the motion to have the measures drawn up as bills before the Legislature.
The measures would:
¢ Require 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.
¢ Require 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.
¢ Require that recorded telephone campaign messages identify who is paying for or sponsoring the communication. Currently, there is no requirement for this identification.
¢ Require disclosure of contributions of $100 or more for so-called issue ads that identify a candidate. Currently, issue ads are exempt from disclosure.
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