New campaign reform rules filed with state

HELENA – Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl on Tuesday signed new rules for campaign reform, saying that it was a historic day for the state and how election spending is reported.

“This is a splendid day for transparency in Montana,” he said after he and Jaime MacNaughton, the legal counsel for his office, signed the proposed rules inside the Secretary of State’s office.

Senate Bill 289, nicknamed “the dark money bill,” requires more disclosure surrounding campaign donations. Sponsored by Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, SB 289 requires corporations to disclose political contributions favoring or opposing candidates and ballot issues in Montana.

The new rules require candidates and political committees to file reports electronically, which will make them immediately available online in a searchable form. The rules also require candidates to file campaign finance reports at both 35 days and 12 days before elections. The 35-day reporting requirement is new.

Motl said the new regulations, expected to go into effect in January, are regulations that will serve another generation of Montanans.

“This is a day to be proud, a day to be thankful,” Motl said.

Motl and MacNaughton signed the rules, then Mary Baker, a program supervisor with COPP, walked the document down the hall and filed it with the Secretary of State’s office.

The rules already are meeting resistance as Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton, said earlier this month there would be a poll of 150 state legislators as to whether the rule changes followed their intention when Senate Bill 289 was approved in the 2015 session. Twenty-three GOP lawmakers requested the vote. State law requires a poll if 20 or more lawmakers object to a proposed rule while the Legislature is out of session.

She had described the rules as “vague” and said they could deter people from seeking public office.

SAVA decided Tuesday to mail out the ballots on Dec. 1 and require that they be returned by Dec. 21 with the goal of having the rules and the results of the poll published in the Montana Administrative Register on Jan. 8.

The rules will take effect the day after publication.

A motion by the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee on Nov. 17 to delay adopting the rules one more time failed due to a 4-4 vote.

Motl said the rules will apply to the 2016 primary elections in June. He was also waiting for the poll results to be returned. The poll will have no effect on the rules but will become part of the permanent record if the rules are challenged in court.

Motl said he had seven attorneys review the rules. He said the rules underwent about five changes after the SAVA committee meeting to take care of issues that some said were vague.

He said the rules would bring about transparency of the likes that Montana has never seen, adding “a light will go off in Montana, and we will see places we have never seen before.”

Motl said candidates will file electronically and anyone with a computer will be able to see reports the same time as the commissioner’s office.

Previously, it would take seven to 10 days for those filings to be available to the public, Baker said.

“It’s going to increase transparency in a way this state has never seen,” Motl said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.