The Akron Legal News

Senator wants to close loophole in campaign finance law

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 8, 2015

A Cleveland lawmaker has asked members of the Senate State Government Oversight and Reform Committee to move a campaign finance bill forward.

Senate Bill 337, sponsored by Sen. Nina Turner, would grant the Ohio Secretary of State and the Ohio Elections Commission the explicit authority to issue subpoenas to out-of-state individuals during the course of investigating possible violations of the state’s election and campaign finance laws.

In sponsor testimony before the Senate committee, Turner said the proposed legislation was crafted to close a loophole in Ohio’s campaign finance enforcement statutes that was identified in 2011.

Under current law, she said out-of-state individuals and entities who participate in campaign activities within Ohio are able to escape investigation by the OEC and secretary of state for irregularities found in their campaign finance filings.

Turner said the deficiency was identified by U.S. District Court Judge George Smith in his 2011 ruling in Cummings v. Husted.

“Following the authorization of video lottery terminals at Ohio’s horse racing tracks in 2009, the ballot issue committee LetOhioVote.org formed to advocate placing the measure before voters in a referendum,” she said, adding that the group was required to file a campaign finance report pursuant to state law.

Turner said then-Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner discovered irregularities in the report and issued subpoenas to several Virginia-based individuals associated with the referendum effort.

After the issue landed in the district court, Smith ruled that state authorities lacked the statutory ability to subpoena individuals outside of the state to appear before the commission and answer questions about irregularities in their campaign finance filings.

Turner said SB 337 would ensure that in-state and out-of-state election spenders follow the same rules.

“No one should be beyond the law,” she said. “If a person or group is working to influence our elections, they should be held accountable to the laws that govern them, regardless of where they are based.”

According to a bill summary, SB 337 would give the secretary of state, in the performance of the secretary’s duties as the chief election officer, authorization to issue subpoenas to any person within or outside the state and summon witnesses within or outside Ohio.

Similarly, the measure would permit the OEC to issue subpoenas to any person within or outside the state, compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, books, accounts and reports.

“Existing law allows the OEC to issue subpoenas only to persons within Ohio,” the summary states.

“The current statute does not specify whether the secretary of state may subpoena or summon an out-of-state person, but a federal district court has ruled that the law does not permit the secretary of state to do so.”

Turner said enacting SB 337 would equip the secretary of state and OED with “additional tools to ensure Ohio’s elections are fair and honest and provide Ohio’s voters peace of mind that the out-of-state entities funding ballot initiatives and candidates in our state can be held accountable to our laws.”

“As Ohio’s role in the national political landscape continues to grow, and as political fundraising and campaigning becomes an increasingly national endeavor, this legislation is needed more than ever,” she said.

In addition to expanding the subpoena and summons power of the state secretary and OEC, SB 337 addresses penalties for out-of-state individuals who fail to comply with a subpoena or summons.

The bill states that any person who fails to obey a subpoena or summons issued by the secretary of state or the OEC may be prosecuted under the continuing provision of the election law that requires individuals to cooperate with such orders.

State statute requires an individual who has been subpoenaed or ordered to appear before a grand jury, court, board or officer in a proceeding or prosecution under an election law to appear or produce the required documents, as applicable.

A person who violates that requirement is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a six-month maximum imprisonment, a fine of $1,000 or both.

“This simple fix is long overdue,” Turner said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and all interested parties to advance this legislation before this session concludes.”

SB 337 is co-sponsored by Sens. Joe Schiavoni, Charleta Tavares and Bill Seitz.

The bill has not been scheduled for additional hearings.

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