Amid the many important issues facing the Kansas Legislature this session, Kansas voters shouldn’t allow a campaign finance measure introduced last week to get lost.

The legislation that would require more reporting on campaign contributions will have a significant impact on the future of Kansas politics.

In the last election cycle, money from political action committees (PACs) was a deciding factor in some Kansas legislative races. Specifically, anti-tax PACs were key in defeating a number of moderate Republicans around the state, legislators who had taken — and might have taken again — leadership roles in dealing with the state’s school finance issues. In several key instances, that PAC money had a significant impact on who now represents us all in the Kansas Legislature.

Yet, because of loopholes in the state’s campaign finance laws, we didn’t know where the money was coming from or where it was going until well after the elections were over and new legislators were on their way to Topeka. The anti-tax PACs were notable in the 2004 elections, but the same rules would apply to PACs representing any group from teachers to labor unions.

The bill introduced Tuesday has several important provisions to help correct that situation. It would:

• Require PACS to detail the candidates they supported or opposed; no names are required now.
• Require any contributions of $50 or more made in the last 11 days before the election to be reported within 24 hours. That will give voters a chance to see who is financing campaigns BEFORE they go to the polls.
• Require recorded telephone campaign messages to identify who is sponsoring or paying for the communication.
• Require disclosure of all contributions of $100 or more for so-called issue ads that identify a candidate. Issue ads currently are exempt from disclosure laws.

Money is a huge factor in modern political campaigns. Many officeholders at the national level complain about how raising funds dominates their days, reducing the time they devote to actually doing their elected jobs. To cast an informed vote in an election at any level, voters must know where candidates are getting the money to run their campaigns. Armed with that knowledge, voters can form their own opinions about whether they agree with the donors’ philosophy and whether donors will have undue influence over policy issues or the candidate who received the funds.

In a representative democracy, there’s nothing more important than having honest people in office, people who are intelligent, dedicated and motivated by what is best for their city, state or country. The campaign finance legislation on the table in Topeka is an important part of helping voters make the right choices.