Alabama legislators (!) and the governor (!!) are still talking about banning PAC-to-PAC transfers - after election day.

A ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers, a political fundraising scheme often described as a “shell game,” will be the centerpiece of Gov. Bob Riley’s ethics reform package in 2007.

The legislation would restrict the practice of transferring campaign contributions from one political action committee to another. Supporters of the legislation say the practice hides the source of campaign funds and makes it impossible for voters to determine who is paying a candidate’s campaign bills.

House Speaker Seth Hammett said during the recent organizational session he expects the ban to win House approval again this year.

And Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Oak Grove, the new president pro tem of the Senate, said Monday he “really feels good it’s going to pass” the Senate in 2007. In recent years, the bill has passed the House and died in the Senate.

“It’s taking a lot more money to spend on a campaign now,” he said, “and, right now, I think the Senate’s sentiment is to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers.”

Mitchem’s statement isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of the ban.  Let’s hope the bill doesn’t get stuck in committee.

Riley wants to see the Senators have to go on record:

“The House will pass it unanimously right out of the box. If it gets to the Senate floor, then everyone is going to have to stand up and take a position. And I think it will pass,” Riley said. “What has allowed it to be killed before is it never comes out of (Senate) committee so everyone can be for it but never have to vote.”

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This entry was posted by Brian on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 5:53 am and is filed under Alabama, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.