PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee has signed legislation to help provide information to voters about who is behind political messages, a move that is aimed at requiring disclosure by so-called “super-PACs.”
Sponsored by Rep. Christopher R. Blazejewski, D-Providence, and Sen. Juan A. Pichardo, D-Providence, the Transparency in Political Spending Act (TIPS) requires individuals and organizations that engage in “independent expenditures” and “electioneering communications” to report donors and expenditures to the R.I. State Board of Elections and to include disclaimers on media and Internet advertising.
The legislation is aimed at the “super-PACs” that formed following the Supreme Court Citizens United decision that ruled that the First Amendment protects corporations’ and unions’ right to fund independent political messages.
The legislation, which was submitted on behalf of Chafee, was developed in collaboration with Common Cause Rhode Island and was co-sponsored by House Speaker Gordon D. Fox and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed. It would require that any group (as defined under the act) that spends more than $1,000 in Rhode Island to support a candidate or a political issue must report that expense to the Board of Elections. It also requires groups that engage in electioneering communications to report all donors who have contributed $1,000 or more in the previous year. •
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