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A Utah legislator wants candidates for public office to file accurate and timely campaign reports.
Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, said some candidates "are amending their reports in an excessive way."
Allen is sponsoring House Bill 41, which was passed by the House on Monday with a vote of 67-1 and one absent. The co-sponsor of the bill is Sen. Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City. The bill now goes before the Senate for further consideration.
Candidates for state office, judges who are retaining their office, political action committees, a political issues committee and state or local school board candidates, who file campaign finance reports late can be fined under the bill.
Currently, the only penalty for failing to file or missing deadlines is to be removed from the ballot, but Allen said that rarely happens.
"The public deserves to know the reports are as accurate as possible, and it's a courtesy to them," Allen said.
Allen said the bill applies to all legislators. If they file their campaign reports late or make excessive amendments, they can be fined $25 or 5 percent of the amounts changed on the amendments, depending on which is greater.
The Office of the Lieutenant Governor would decide whether the number of amendments is excessive.
Allen said she knows of a case in which a candidate did not file his campaign report but was kept on the ballot. She said her intern did the research, but Allen said she asked not to know the names of candidates who filed late.
Some representatives said they are worried the bill will have unintended consequences.
"We have passed bills that have chilled the desire of individuals to run for public office," said Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley.
Removing candidates from the ballot affects both the candidate and the party, Bigelow said.
Candidates who do not understand what needs to be filed could end up in trouble, he said.
"You better be financially savvy or have someone on your campaign who is," Bigelow said.
House Bill 41 Campaign Report Amendments
Sponsor: Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful
This bill would modify provisions of the Campaign and Financial Reporting Requirements chapter of the Election Code. |
