By Julia Shumway | Arizona Capitol Times
Legislative Republicans who for years have trumpeted their support of money in politics are now looking for ways to curtail some spending after a tsunami of out-of-state Democratic dollars failed to result in the electoral take over Democrats sought.
Republicans remain loath to tinker with laws regulating independent expenditures from outside groups — some of which don’t disclose their donors — as they view that spending as protected free speech. But Senate Republicans are rallying support for proposals to change how small contributions are reported, a change that would disproportionately affect Democratic candidates.
Chief among the proposed changes is a cap on how much candidates can report in aggregate as donations from “multiple contributors,” said Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott. As long as a single person doesn’t contribute more than $50 to a campaign during an election cycle, the public may never learn that person’s name because their contributions can be reported in aggregate without the names, occupations or addresses required with larger contributions.
