EXPLANATION
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this ordinance is to amend Section 2321.53 of the Columbus City Codes which pertains to the disclosure requirements of campaign committees, political action committees, political contributing entities, and political parties that make a contribution to or an expenditure in support of or opposition to a municipal candidate or municipal ballot issue.
Columbus’ existing campaign finance disclosure requirements already exceed those required by the Ohio Revised Code, with Council having amended the Columbus City Code in 2003 to reflect the requirement of an additional five-day campaign finance report. This additional requirement allowed the public to be better informed about campaign contributions and expenditures closer to any election.
However, there are still time periods in the election cycle during which the public has no access to information on campaign activity for months at a time. This legislation will remedy the problem by creating two additional campaign finance disclosures for both election and non-election years. For election years, a new “mid-cycle” report will be required to report activity sixty days prior to primary and general elections. For non-election years, two additional disclosure reports will be required in April and October, making off-year reports quarterly, rather than just biannual.
To further increase public access to these reports, this legislation will also require a new campaign finance database to be created and maintained by the Columbus City Clerk’s office, in cooperation with the Franklin County Board of Elections. This database will allow for searching and viewing of all city campaign finance reports and make it easier for residents to gain access to this important information.
Though the City’s disclosure requirements are already strong, these additional safeguards further Council’s efforts to make political campaign financing even more transparent, as well as to increase pub...
Click here for full text