This report is the result of over one year of focused research on the many ways that politicians raise money through non-campaign entities. The Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) initiated this study as it has become increasingly obvious that the campaign fi nance reforms of the past 30 years are no longer always suffi cient to control the money given to elected officials and candidates.
CGS has studied and provided solutions for campaign finance issues for over 25 years. CGS reports and other publications on campaign financing in California state and local elections as well as reports on ballot initiative reform, judicial elections and public campaign fi nancing are available for download at www.cgs.org.
“Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs” is the beginning of an ongoing, detailed investigation of the ways elected offi cials and candidates evade campaign finance laws, enabling them to raise sums of money that often significantly exceed the amounts allowed under applicable campaign finance laws. CGS will update this report periodically on its website to provide an ongoing, comprehensive and current view of these evasions.
“Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs” also offers a model law that, if adopted, would strengthen campaign fi nance laws and counter many of the loopholes identified by CGS. It assumes that any payment received from a donor, regardless of its receipt through a campaign or a non-campaign entity, can potentially influence a politician. The model law therefore requires that all contributions and payments from a particular donor be aggregated, subject to a single contribution limit (in most cases) and fully disclosed to allow citizens to know which individuals and entities are funding politicians. This transparency is at the heart of the proposed reforms and is a critical safeguard toward preserving democracy.
