Proposed bill takes aim at dark money in campaigns
Montana’s elections should be decided by people, not by corporations. With the influx of dark money into our campaigns, legislators must take a stand to ensure that corporations know Montana’s elections are not for sale.
That is why I am partnering with Gov. Steve Bullock to strengthen Montana’s campaign finance laws. I’ve introduced House Bill 409, which is known as the Corporate Accountability Act.
This bill gives the Secretary of State the ability to dissolve a corporation if they have been found by a court to have severely violated Montana’s campaign finance laws. The bill would prevent corporations who continue to blatantly ignore our laws from continuing to do business in Montana. HB 409 provides us one more tool to ensure that we make the message clear that our campaign laws are not negotiable.
Montana has a long history of fighting political corruption. More than one hundred years ago, Montanans passed the Corrupt Practices Act, which banned corporate contributions for candidates running for public office. This was enacted by the voters of Montana in response to years of abuse and political corruption by corporations. At the time, groups like the Anaconda Company allowed the wealthiest individuals to decide who was elected in Montana. We no longer live in the age of the Copper Kings, but the work to maintain free and fair elections continues to be an uphill battle.
The Citizen United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has opened the floodgates for previously illegal money to rush into our state. Every election year, we see more and more spending by shadowy organizations that do not file reports or disclose their donors. Their goal is to buy our elections without ever revealing who they truly are. This is exactly why we need a 21st century Corrupt Practices Act to address the growing influence of unreported money in our elections.
Together, both Republican and Democratic legislators are introducing legislation that requires these groups to come out of the shadows. Our goal is to provide more transparency, level the playing field so that everyone plays by the same rules, and hold bad actors accountable if they choose to ignore our laws.
Our democracy is strongest when everyone follows the same rules and the money involved is as transparent as possible. If we are going to have rules, they have to be enforced and unfortunately today there are too many corporations that are playing fast and loose with our campaign finance laws. It is the legislature's job to find ways to keep our elections open and accountable to the people of our state. It’s a job I’m proud to do.
Rep. Bryce Bennett, D-Missoula, represents House District 91.