Disclosure
News & Commentary | Archive

BCRA augments existing disclosure requirements and adds new ones. Candidates must personally approve their advertising, making statements of this approval in prescribed form in their radio and television spots. Other reporting requirements are established by way of implementation of the Millionaire's Amendment, so that the FEC, candidates and parties affected by the provision may determine the eligibility of relief provided under this provision. National party committees and candidates are subject to new reporting schedules, and some financial activity previously untouched by the law, such as donations to Inaugural committees, are not subject to disclosure.

Disclaimers: A Decision from the FEC and Clarification

     Those who followed the first Federal Election Commission meeting in a long time will know that it issued two Advisory Opinions, adopting the staff recommendations in both instances.  One of the Opinions, issued to Club for Growth (2007-33), rejected a modification of the oral disclaimer, the stand by your ad (SBYA), for 10- and 15-second advertisements.  The Commission concluded that the statute did not afford such flexibility for non-candidate committees, such as Club for Growth.

 

Disclaimers and the Space for Political Messaging: The Question of FEC Authority

     A disclaimer, written or spoken, may be omitted from a political advertisement if its inclusion in full is "impractical."  11 CFR § 110.11(f)(ii).  This FEC "exception" to the disclaimer rules offers as examples of qualifying advertisements, "skywriting, water towers [and] wearing apparel"; but it applies this "exception" more generally to "other means of displaying an advertisement of such a nature that the inclusion of the disclaimer would be impractical."  Id.  How the far this exception goes—the range of ads it might cover—has never been elaborated in detail.

 

Less than Full Disclosure: the Center for Competitive Politics’ Understated Goal in Attacking Ohio’s Regulation of Electioneering Communications

     The Center for Competitive Politics, hoping to expand the protections afforded issue advertising by WRTL II, has chosen Ohio for the next field of battle and reporting requirements are its primary target.  Ohio’s law also subjects the advertising to source restrictions, within thirty days of an election, but CCP has the fresh club of WRTL II to bat these away, on behalf of Ohio Right to Life.  The reporting issues represent the true frontier here, and CCP has picked its fight carefully.

 

The New Argument Over Disclosure

     An unsigned piece at the Center of Competitive Politics site questions compelled disclosure of political spending.  It concedes some case for disclosure of contributions to candidates.  It is wholly unimpressed with forced reporting to the government of independent activity. 

     Two reasons are given for wariness about compelled disclosure:  the danger of reprisal against those whose political affiliations are made known to all, on the public record, and the distortion of debate when attention is turned to the authorship of positions rather than their merits. 

 

Studying Disclosure, And Its Uses

   States enact different disclosure regimes, some better than others, and Professor Ray La Raja of the University of Massachusetts has posted the interesting question of whether and how more comprehensive, accessible disclosure influences the quantity and quality of newspaper coverage of campaign finance.  In an article appearing in the latest issue of the Election Law Journal, 6 Election L. J. 236 (2007), LaRaja reports his findings, having studied three years of state campaign finance coverage in the 50 states.  Better disclosure does not result in more , or more timely, reporting on campaign finance.  Somewhat against LaRaja’s expectation, scandal reporting does not rise with the quality of the disclosure regimes,  and “horse race” stories are less prevalent where mandated disclosure is robust.

Also...

Disclosure for Thee and Not for Me: and the Warnings (Not) of Mr. Ugarte  6/22/07

Celebrating McCain-Feingold’s Birthday: “Speech! Speech!”  3/28/07

"1984"  3/22/07

Thinking about the “Bundling” Disclosure  2/9/07

The Never Ending Disclosure War  12/20/06

The Anonymous Donor  8/7/06

McCain and the Blogger on His Payroll  7/27/06

Accepted Verities and Heresy in Political Reform  6/7/06

The Uses of Secrecy and Disclosure in Political Reform  5/1/06

The Uses of Disclosure in Lobbying Reform  1/5/06