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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Yvonne Selcer (DFL)

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Legislative Update - February 4, 2016

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Dear Neighbors,

As Minnesotans prepare to participate in precinct caucuses March 1, your television screens will likely light up over the next several weeks with advertisements supporting or opposing the various candidates for President of the United States. Later this summer and fall, your mailboxes will likely be deluged with fancy, colorful mail pieces either celebrating or decrying the presidential candidates, as well as those running for Congress and the state legislature. While the pieces will certainly mention candidates by name, we may never be able to know who actually paid for them.

That’s why I’m pleased to announce I am co-authoring the DISCLOSE Act which will, through an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, finally provide some transparency for the sources of this dark money. The DISCLOSE Act – which stands for Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections – is a simple but important reform of Minnesota’s campaign finance system which eliminates a loophole that exempts political groups from reporting spending on “issue based” communications, even if they advocate for or against a candidate.

Since the 2010 Citizens United decision came down from the U.S. Supreme Court – which enabled corporations to spend limitless amounts of money on political advocacy – Minnesotans have been inundated by outside spending in campaigns. The sources of much of this money funneled into Super PACs and other groups have been able to evade disclosure and scrutiny.

If a majority of both the House and Senate approve of this measure during the 2016 legislative session, the amendment will appear on the ballot for consideration during this November’s general election.

Well-funded corporate special interests and their allies in the Legislature have been able to successfully block these types of reforms every time they have been introduced. The DISCLOSE Act won’t stop these type of expenditures, but it will provide sunshine on who is paying for them. Voters have a right to know whose bank accounts are behind political communications, and I am confident Minnesotans will support this initiative at the ballot box.

For every election that goes by where this is not addressed, and for every legislative session where corporate special interests are able to halt meaningful reform, citizens will continue to lose faith in our democracy. I hope the option to adopt this common sense reform can be given to Minnesota voters so light can be shed on these millions of dollars of dark campaign spending.

I invite your feedback on this, and other issues. Feel free to contact me anytime at rep.yvonne.selcer@house.mn or 651-296-3964.

Sincerely,

Yvonne Selcer
State Representative