Font ResizeThe notion of capping state campaign donations stirred debate Thursday among members of the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Democracy.
Commission member Bruce Hough, a Republican national committeeman, said individual and corporate campaign gifts are a form of free speech and should not be limited in any way. Instead, he supports rapid and transparent disclosure of receipts and expenditures.
Doug Wright, a talk-show host for KSL-Radio and a member of the commission, disagreed with dismissing the idea of caps too quickly.
Wright argued that the commission would be remiss if it didn't explore the idea of caps on campaign donations. He reminded members that the commission had been tasked with finding out why Utahns fail to engage in the electoral process and voter turnout continues to decline.
Most state officeholders receive the bulk of their campaign dollars from corporations and political action committees -- for some, it's not unusual to receive $20,000 from one source. Some believe that kind of influence drowns out the voice of the average voter, discouraging their participation in the process.
"We're one of the few states that doesn't have limits -- I would not be averse to setting some," Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, a Salt Lake City Democrat and commission member, said in an interview Thursday.
Members will formulate proposals to consider at future sessions.
The panel also discussed how to improve the state's campaign finance disclosure process.
Commission member Dave Hansen, newly elected to chair the state Republican Party, remarked that relatively few disclosure complaints get filed with the Lieutenant Governor's Office.
"Why should we hire investigators and spend taxpayer dollars if there's no problem?" Hansen asked.
But Mark Thomas, office administrator for the lieutenant governor, argued that Utah has room to improve the disclosure process.
He referenced a recent study conducted by UCLA's School of Law that gave Utah low marks for disclosure.
"In 2006 we received an F, in 2008 a D-minus," he said.
» Require donors who give $50 or more to state candidates to disclose their occupations and employers, along with their names and addresses.
» Require all state candidates to file electronic reports.
For more information, log on to www.strengtheningdemocracy.org
