Explanation
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this ordinance is to create new sections 107.02, 107.03, 107.04, and 107.05 of the Columbus City Codes; to update and clarify Code sections pertaining to campaign finance disclosure for officeholders, candidates, ballot issue committees, PACs, PCEs, and other required filers in the City of Columbus.
In the past few years, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and City Council have proposed and passed reforms that make municipal elections in Columbus more transparent to the public. A recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Federal Election Commission and Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies opened the door for greater disclosure from the groups paying for election period communications, including dark money. In 2018, Mayor Ginther proposed and Council passed amendments to the City Codes that force disclosure of these forms of political contributions and expenditures, as well as setting contribution limits for municipal candidates and contributors, requiring auditing of campaign finance reports, and creating a system to report and investigate alleged violations.
Upon additional review of these sections, it became clear the further updates were necessary to align with state and federal law, as well as to ensure the maximum disclosure allowable by law. The new sections enacted will also provide additional definitions and reorder some of the previous language in these sections to increase clarity. There are four key areas for updates:
· Definitions added and/or edited, such as expanding the definition of “agent” to include those who would reasonably appear to authorize expenditures on behalf of campaign committees, as well as to expand the amount of time given to file election period communication reports from twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) hours
· Updating filing requirements to mirror state and federal laws by requiring independent expenditure entities to disclose all indiv...
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