The latest effort to force groups that sponsor campaign “issue” ads to report their donations and expenditures created some tension but, unfortunately, no action in the Kansas House last week.

In the kind of maneuver that’s not unusual at this point in the session, Rep. Pat Colloton, a Leawood Republican, attempted to add a campaign finance amendment onto a bill that came to the House floor as a measure about the mistreatment of dependent adults. House Majority Leader Ray Merrick then moved to cut off debate of the amendment in the middle of its consideration.

In a unusual move that perhaps is indicative of support for the campaign reform measure, the House rejected Merrick’s motion. The House then “stood at ease” while its leadership convinced Colloton to withdraw her amendment. The bill was banished back to committee, where it will lie for the rest of the current session.

It’s unfortunate this debate didn’t take place. It’s even more unfortunate that members of legislative leadership don’t understand the importance to the public of the legislation Colloton was proposing.

Too many special interest groups manage to walk the current legal line that allows them to sponsor issue ads without reporting their expenditures or their donors. These ads supposedly address issues without expressly advocating for a candidate’s election or defeat, but in most cases it is perfectly clear which candidate the ads favor.

Money can pour — and has poured — into Kansas from out-of-state sources to finance campaign commercials that seek to swing Kansas elections. Almost always, that money comes from national groups with a narrow political agenda that want to discredit and defeat candidates who differ with their point of view. Their slant often is sensational in a way that borders on dishonesty.

What these groups are doing should be protected by their constitutional right to free speech. What shouldn’t be allowed, however, is for them to hide how much money they are spending to buy this advertising and where that money is coming from. That’s information that should be readily available to voters who can then decide for themselves how much stock they should put in the group’s message.

Kansas has taken some significant steps in recent years to try to provide better campaign finance reporting, but the ability of these campaign “issue” groups to fly under the reporting radar still is a gaping hole. Plugging that hole would benefit Kansans and could be accomplished at minimal expense.

It would be a great investment in democracy. State legislators should take the energy they spend blocking this measure and put it into getting some legislation passed.