In favor of An Act Relative to Disclosure of Political Spending, SB 304

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” He was referring, of course, not to household cleaning practices but to the health of our democracy. Justice Brandeis believed passionately in open and accountable government.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony today. I am here to represent MASSPIRG, a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan, member-supported consumer advocacy organization. We are in support of SB 304, sponsored by Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Cory Atkins.

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” He was referring, of course, not to household cleaning practices but to the health of our democracy. Justice Brandeis believed passionately in open and accountable government.

It is our belief that Justice Brandeis would be appalled at the Supreme Court’s January 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, which, most observers agree, opens the door to a flood of corporate money and influence in the political process. To add insult to the injury of unlimited corporate spending, much of this money can be spent with no obligation to identify the source of it. So not only will the democratic process be overrun by corporate dollars, we will be blindfolded as this happens. MASSPIRG believes that this secrecy can only serve to pollute our democracy, and as such we’ll need all the disinfectant we can muster.

While the particulars of campaign finance law may not be typical dinner hour conversation, over the past several years the public has rallied around one word in relationship to government and elections: “transparency.” This bill serves the public interest by promoting transparency and disclosure in elections, and it does so in concrete and practical ways. If this bill was to become law, it would:

  • Clarify that current disclosure and reporting requirements apply to all political communications allowed under the law
  • Require corporations and labor unions paying for political advertisements to disclose their spending even if the advertisements are made by another group or entity
  • Require entities or groups paying for political ads to report on funds they receive
  • Require organizations spending large amounts on political advertisements to register as political committees
  • Require political advertisements to include disclaimer statements that identify their top contributors, so that big donors can’t hide their spending behind a “shadow organization” with an innocuous sounding name

In addition to these crucial disclosure and transparency reforms, the bill includes a provision to ban contributions, independent expenditures, and electioneering communications by foreign nationals and foreign corporations.

We heartily support this bill, which, if passed into law, will bring out the ‘sunlight’ we’ll need – through requiring disclosure of corporate sponsored political advertising, preventing ‘dummy organizations’ that give cover to corporate contributors, and increasing reporting of political spending—to start to disinfect the unhealthy decision the Supreme Court issued in January 2010. MASSPIRG wholeheartedly supports an Act Relative to Disclosure of Political Spending being considered today, and we hope the Committee will see its merits as well. I thank the Committee for your consideration.

Authors

Janet Domenitz

Executive Director, MASSPIRG

Janet has been the executive director of MASSPIRG since 1990 and directs programs on consumer protection, zero waste, health and safety, public transportation, and voter participation. Janet has co-founded or led coalitions, including Earth Day Greater Boston, Campaign to Update the Bottle Bill and the Election Modernization Coalition. On behalf of MASSPIRG, Janet was one of the founding members of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), a statewide coalition of organizations advocating investment in mass transit to curb climate change, improve public health and address equity. Janet serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Consumer Federation of America and serves on the Common Cause Massachusetts executive committee, Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow board of directors, and Department of Environmental Protection Solid Waste Advisory Committee. For her work, Janet has received Common Cause’s John Gardner Award and Salem State University’s Friend of the Earth Award. Janet lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons, and every Wednesday morning she slow-runs the steps at Harvard Stadium with the November Project.