Campaign finance bill has GOP in a stew

As Texas Republicans flirt with a showdown among GOP titans for governor, the party's top brass and some of its activists are fighting about whether next year's primary battle will be waged among contributors who are in full public view or who, at least partly, are taking sides secretly.

The dispute is coming to a head over a bipartisan proposal to ban anonymous attack ads financed by corporations and unions through benignly named front groups in the final days of a campaign. It has escalated into a war of words about the public's right to know who's influencing an election versus the rights of groups to criticize their government.

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House Bill 1348, an omnibus campaign finance bill, could shift the balance of power away from the handful of lobbyists, elected officials and party leaders who are currently able to tap corporate or union coffers for their own purposes: to pass or defeat legislation, to remain in office, to enforce the party line.

Under the bill, corporate or union money could not be spent in the final 30 days before a primary — and 60 days before a general election — on advertising, mailings or other communications that name a specific candidate or ballot measure, regardless of whether the ads explicitly urge voters to support or oppose the candidates. The measure would not affect donations by individuals, who, either by themselves or through political action committees, can now spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they disclose their donations to state election officials.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/04/25campaigns.html