[link removed] [[link removed]] MARCH 17, 2025
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It's Sunshine Week, a time to promote transparency in government. Nonpartisan organizations, ranging from civic educators to media to the private sector, are sharing resources and information about the importance of access to public records — such as the campaign and lobbying data OpenSecrets has been studying for 40 years.
Campaign finance proposals face long odds this year – with a few exceptions
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By Dave Levinthal
During his most recent campaign, Utah state Rep. Mike Petersen (R) spotted a $5,000 in-kind contribution from “All in for Utah” — an unfamiliar organization supporting his primary opponent with “creative production and digital ads.”
But when Petersen tried using his state’s campaign finance disclosure website [[link removed]] to learn whether this entity had donated money to other Utah candidates, he discovered there was no way to simply type in the 501(c)(4) nonprofit group’s name — “ All in for Utah [[link removed]] ” — and generate a list.
Unable to find a better option, Petersen stayed up “half the night” manually scouring candidates’ campaign money disclosures to determine whether All in for Utah had contributed to them, he told OpenSecrets.
“It was really frustrating, and it’s unfair to voters,” Petersen said. (OpenSecrets operates a legacy site, Follow the Money, where that data can be found [[link removed]] .)
So Petersen in January introduced legislation to improve the state’s campaign finance search capabilities — and the bill passed on a bipartisan basis with no controversy. It’s now awaiting the signature of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), whose own campaign [[link removed]] received All in for Utah money.
Petersen’s experience in advancing a bill affecting campaign finance laws, however, is far from the norm in 2025. To mark Sunshine Week, OpenSecrets analyzed the meager progress of such bills across the country.
By the numbers
* From Jan. 1 through early March, state lawmakers have considered 319 bills covering campaign finance issues across 45 states plus Guam, according to data [[link removed]] maintained by the National Council of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization for state lawmakers.
* New York (37), Hawaii (32), Virginia (21), Minnesota (18) and Arizona (16) lead all states. Connecticut, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah have also cracked double-digits.
* The vast majority of these state-level bills are pending in a legislative committee, their futures uncertain. Others have already failed — including a dozen bills in Mississippi.
* There have, however, been a handful of state-level success stories — large and small — so far in 2025, in addition to Petersen’s victory.
The Virginia General Assembly has seen the most success in terms of campaign finance bills passed so far this year, with lawmakers advancing five such measures to the desk of Gov. Glenn Younkin (R), who has until later this month to consider them.
Among the Virginia bills: a measure [[link removed]] banning personal use [[link removed]] of campaign funds — a standard most other states and the federal government already have in place to some degree.
In South Dakota, Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) signed two campaign money bills into law — one [[link removed]] limiting loans to political candidates and committees, and another [[link removed]] clarifying when political committees must file public disclosures.
Arkansas lawmakers passed a bill [[link removed]] that mostly clarifies existing law on campaign contribution limits, noting that “standardizing the laws related to campaign finance contributes significantly to the public peace, health and safety of the citizens of the State of Arkansas.” It’s now awaiting the signature of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R).
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More Sunshine Week Reads and Resources
Musk’s Team Must Produce Documents to Comply With Open Records Laws, Judge Says [[link removed]] (The New York Times)
Careers in Government Transparency, Accountability, and Oversight [[link removed]] (American Oversight)
Freedom of Information Tools [[link removed]]
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