MARBLEHEAD — Diann Slavit Baylis, one of six candidates for the open 8th Essex District state representative seat, proposed a comprehensive set of campaign finance reform proposals to address gaps in reporting and disclosure.
“Leaders solve problems, and this race has exposed glaring gaps in our state’s campaign finance laws that I will work to address as the next state representative for the 8th Essex District,” said Slavit Baylis. “If elected, the reforms I am proposing today will be one of the first bills I will file for the next legislative session.”
The reforms proposed by Slavit Baylis include requiring that occupation and employer be disclosed in reporting of all political contributions, not just those $200 and above as is the case under current law.
Her proposal would also establish a new requirement that contributions from registered lobbyists be clearly marked as such on campaign finance reports. Under current law, many lobbyist contributions are reported with innocuous-sounding occupations such as “attorney,” she said.
Slavit Baylis is also seeking to create a limit on aggregate lobbyist contributions that can be accepted by a candidate, utilizing the same limits that currently apply to political action committee contributions, which for a House seat is $7,500 annually.
The proposal also establishes a new requirement that detailed contributor information, including candidate loans and contributions to their own campaign, be disclosed within two days of any bank deposit.
Slavit Baylis is also proposing to update campaign finance reporting deadlines to reflect the new election timeline that includes mail-in voting, such that a complete disclosure report should be filed just prior to the commencement of mail-in voting, and such that late contribution reporting rules would apply from that point forward. She believes late contribution requirements should be updated to require immediate (same-day) disclosure of contributions greater than $200 during the late reporting period. Current law only applies late contribution disclosure rules for 18 days before a primary or general election and only to contributions of $500 or more.
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
