PACs still main method of state campaign giving
By Mary Sell, The Decatur Daily, Ala. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
In recent months, some of that money has come from a few large
As of last year, there is no limit on how much money a corporation can directly give a candidate for office in
So far this election cycle, those PACs, which have been around more than 20 years, have given out more than
"Supporting pro-business political action committees enables our company to join with other employers and participate in an appropriate role in the political process," she said.
As far as how the money is distributed to candidates, that's left up to the PAC committees, Mackin said.
Other recent, major contributors to the 11 PACs included:
The coal producer
Drummond has given money directly to candidates and through other PACs, including those run by the public affairs firm
"The organizations that support our PACs through contributions know that we are a pro-business, pro-economic development PAC and trust the PAC to make contributions to candidates who are pro-growth, pro-economic development and pro-business," said
Calls to Great Southern and
Corporate cap gone
Last year, lawmakers did away with a rule that said corporations could only give
Rep.
"It encouraged less transparency and required less transparency," Ball said. "What it did was require that they send the money through multiple PACs, which is less transparent."
The reason for campaign contribution reporting is so the public knows where candidates' money comes from, Ball said.
"We didn't remove the existence of PACs. I would be fine if we did, but removing the corporate limit did one thing: It at least quit requiring them to go through multiple PACs," he said. "I would prefer they do it straight (to the candidates); some businesses would rather not."
"We had balances in all of our PACs, so it wasn't practical to shut them down," he said. He declined to comment on the record about how contribution decisions are made.
The Fine, Geddie PACs give to Republicans and Democrats. One of the main recipients is Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, R-
According to the
Sen.
"Now, you can always tell where the money is coming from," Taylor said. "(Candidates) no longer have an excuse for saying they don't know," he said.
Rep.
"If a lawmaker doesn't want to take gambling money, or anything else, they need to do the research," the House Majority Leader said.
But Hammon said he's OK with businesses sending their contributions through political action committees.
"They don't have to, and it's a lot more transparent now, but a lot of corporations have these lobbying firms and want them to handle it for them."
PAC mentality
Most local lawmakers have received at least some contributions from PACs run by the
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Source: Campaign finance reports filed with the
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