While there is a lot of talk about the veto of SB 6, don't forget about the fallout from Gov. Charlie Crist's other veto this session.
Lawmakers included regulation of 527s, so-called for the section of the IRS code that covers them, in a lengthy elections bill that Crist vetoed earlier this month. The Legislature needed to act because a federal judge last year struck down the state law that covered this groups which also go by the name of "electioneering communications organizations."
Crist vetoed the bill, however, because it allowed for the creation of "leadership funds," or separate fundraising accounts that could be set up by legislative leaders.
Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning is holding out hope that state lawmakers may still enact some type of regulation of these third-party political groups before the session ends on April 30.
And he's got a reason to. That's because Browning's office has yet to issue a formal opinion on how to deal with these 527 organizations heading into this year's election season.
Last August Tallahassee attorney Mark Herron asked that state Division of Elections tell him how election law would work after the federal court ruling.
"The reason we haven't released it is because of the legislative session,'' said Browning.
Herron's 5-page letter asked whether candidates could still coordinate with 527 organizations and whether it is considered a contribution to a candidate's campaign if the 527 organization runs an ad that either attacks or supports a candidate in such a way that it is the "functional equivalent of express advocacy," which is a new definition cited recently in federal court decisions.
This is a big question heading into a wide-open election season with the governor and all three Cabinet posts on the ballot.
But legislators are still stinging from Crist's veto of HB 1207. When asked about 527s earlier this week, Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales and chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections committee, said earlier this week he had no plans to take up the issue this session.
“We did that already,’’ said Alexander. “We’re working on budgets. We thought we put a good piece of work together that provided significantly improved transparency and protections."But Browning said that legislators could still add the 527 provisions to a comprehensive elections bill that is still moving through the Legislature. A Senate panel is scheduled to take up SB 900 on Monday.
Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, has filed a strike-everything amendment that would remove many provisions from the bill, including a provision that would make it clear state election law trumps any local ordinances dealing with elections. Gardiner’s amendment would also remove a part of the bill that would give Browning the authority to authorize voting recounts in some instances. His amendment does not address 527’s at all.
And Gardiner's amendment would also wipe the provision in SB 900 that would have eliminated a requirement in state law that campaign reports include credit card statements. As noted elsewhere, the state Division of Elections has allowed parties to bypass this requirement.
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