Topeka — Annoying robo calls, mysterious groups funding slash-and-burn ads, and last-minute cash drops reached a new high - or low - in the recent election in Kansas.
The Kansas Ethics Commission has decided again to try to rein in the situation by proposing reforms for the Legislature to consider in 2007.
"It's all about trying to promote openness and disclosure of information," said Carol Williams, executive director of the Ethics Commission.
Williams said the No. 1 complaint during the past election cycle was from people bombarded with recorded phone-bank campaign messages.
She said many people wanted to know why they were getting the calls because they were on the state's No-Call list, which prohibits unsolicited calls from telemarketers. The law, however, exempts political candidates or issue organizations.
In Missouri, Atty. Gen. Jay Nixon has proposed expanding the No-Call list to political phone messages.
Mark Simpson, a spokesman for Kansas Atty. Gen.-elect Paul Morrison, said Morrison thinks it's an interesting idea and worth considering.
The Kansas Ethics Commission recommendation doesn't go as far as Nixon's proposal, but it would require that the messages identify who is paying for or sponsoring the communication.
But state Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, who has tried to push through campaign reforms, said Thursday that Kansas should consider an expansion of No-Call.
"That's an intriguing idea. If you are going to pay for a telephone line into your house, you should have some kind of say over who calls," Davis said.
The Ethics Commission also has proposed requiring:
¢ Political action committees specifically report the name of the candidate they spent money on. Currently, PACs have to report only the amount spent and the name of the vendor that the money went to.
¢ Timely reporting of contributions made in excess of $50 received during the last 11 days before an election. Currently, contributions during that period aren't reported until months after the election.
¢ Issue advocacy organizations disclose who is paying for their ads and how much the sponsors are spending. Currently, spending from issue advocacy groups goes unreported.
The reforms have been pushed before but usually get strangled in partisan fighting.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has stated she supports the reforms, but vetoed a package during the last session that would have enacted some of them. She said she vetoed the package because it included a provision that would have made it more difficult to cast absentee ballots.
But Davis said he was optimistic something will be done when the Legislature meets Jan. 8.
"I hope coming off a campaign cycle, the Legislature will realize there are some things we need to get a handle on," he said.
Comments
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Kropotkin (anonymous) says…
One hopes the Ethics Commission will also restrain the wingnut candidates from campaigning in churches.
Those who did so ran the gamut, I've heard, from Phill Kline's notorious indiscretions to Board of Education incumbent Ken Willard traipsing from church to church, to the non-profit 501(c)3 Discovery Institute dumping a trainload of dough mobilizing the faithful in churches in the western Kansas district of now-cashiered incumbent Connie Morris.
pelliott (anonymous) says…
dear robot caller, your motherboard is old dc battery that leaks acid, your male plugin is a short circuited router. Your extended networks are configured to be computerchips that power holiday cards.
so I told them.
Sometimes when I hit 0 while a robot calls I get a quick record of what might be a phone number.
Election, charities and it seems surveys are exempt from the don't call list. I think we need tougher laws. Some states are adding robot election calls to their no call list.
Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
I think these reforms are worth discussing. Unfortunately, those who would be discussing them largely benefitted from the status quo...and may perceive it to be against their interests to pass reforms.
Godot (anonymous) says…
The no-call list should apply to politicians, political groups, and pollsters, as well.
Godot (anonymous) says…
If churces were not tax-exempt, using them for political campaigning would not be a problem.
Make all religious groups that collect money and/or own property incorporate and pay taxes.
Godot (anonymous) says…
Better yet, make all groups that collect money pay taxes. Make them accountable like the rest of us.
Godot (anonymous) says…
The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of allowing charities and political campaigns and pollsters to be exempt from the no-call list.
This issue needs to be remedied by the Legislature and Congress.