Lawmakers, Rell Take Another Stab

At Campaign Reform

By Susan Haigh

Associated Press

HARTFORD — State legislators and Governor M. Jodi Rell are attempting this summer to take one more stab at trying to reach a compromise on how to reform Connecticut’s campaign finance system in the wake of a massive corruption scandal.

A bipartisan working group, convened by Rell, held its first organizational meeting last week. Members hope to come up with some sort of deal that limits special interest influence on statewide and legislative campaigns by mid-September.

If such an agreement can’t be reached between now and then, some lawmakers question whether it can ever happen.

“The reality is, the time is the enemy of this legislation,” said Rep Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport, a working group member. “The longer this drags out, frankly, the less opportunity there will be to pass this legislation.”

Reform advocates were hopeful this could be the year that major reforms, including a ban on lobbyist and state contractor contributions and the enactment of a voluntary, publicly funded campaign system, would become reality. They believed there was momentum for change following the corruption scandal that ensnared former governor John G. Rowland, who is serving a one-year sentence in federal prison.

However, the regular session ended last month with the House of Representatives and the Senate, both controlled by Democrats, passing conflicting reform bills. Rell, a Republican, supported the House bill that called for reforms to begin this year. The Senate bill would not have required changes until 2010.

Rep Robert Heagney, R-Simsbury, a group member, said he continues to believe that reforms should begin quickly. “I really think that we need to start at the very next election and that we need to set realistic rules,” he said. “If you’re going to do this, it shouldn’t be something you do two years from now, four years from now.”

However, he is willing to agree to a temporary safety net for candidates. Some politicians are worried that bans on lobbyist and contractor contributions, as well as bans on advertising booklets used for fundraising, will take effect before the publicly funded campaign system is up and running.

“It’s a chess game and how do we move the pieces on the board?” Caruso said.

Aside from the timing of reforms, the 12-member group of legislators, plus representatives from Rell’s office, has other questions to answer during the coming months. For example, they need to determine where the money would come from for a voluntary, publicly funded campaign finance system. Rell asked a subcommittee of the working group to examine a variety of funding options, including a new lottery game with proceeds dedicated to the campaign fund.

During this year’s regular legislative session, lawmakers debated using revenue from unreturned soda and beer bottle deposits, the state’s Rainy Day Fund, or higher court fees to pay for the system.

The group is also likely to debate the role of political action committees controlled by legislators and legislative caucuses, as well as the role played by the major political parties.

In addition, there has been disagreement over how much money candidates should raise before becoming eligible to receive funding through the public financing system.

The group will likely hold a public hearing this summer to gauge support for various reform ideas. They were scheduled to meet again on July 21, when they were expected to pore over the legislation that died as time expired during the General Assembly’s session.

Andy Sauer, executive director of Connecticut Common Cause, said the legislators and Rell have raised expectations so high that they will have to reach a compromise on reforms. He said the public is paying close attention to the debate and is expecting results.

“The major issues have been resolved. If they start from the points where they agree, I think they’ll find they have a lot more in common,” he said. “The items where they disagree really center around time and money, and those are comparatively simple issues to resolve.”