OPINION: Election cop's new rules need close study

The State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee has oversight of the Commissioner of Political Practices. Candidates file their election forms with this office and follow the rules for fair campaigning. Many refer to the job as the “election cop.”

The recent meeting of the interim committee discussed rulemaking by the Commissioner of Political Practices that was done on campaign finance laws including SB259 by Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, also known as the “dark money” bill. I was the deciding vote to get this bill out of committee in the 2015 session and bring it for discussion to the entire body. There was lively debate on both sides of the issue and eventually signed into law.

After our August interim committee meeting I was contacted by the press asking why there were now objections to the rulemaking on this bill when the same groups/lobbyists hadn’t objected to the bill during session. What headline would have been written if the unions, environmentalists, nonprofits and trial lawyers had come out against the “dark money” bill during session? It’s called politics.

I objected to the bill not in its entirety, but on a few specific things contained in some of the 30 pages. Similar concerns were expressed when 23 legislators asked for a recent poll on the rulemaking to ask legislative “intent.”

During public comment some pointed to the language of the current rules such as “may,” “ at the discretion of,” “‘Commissioner of Political Practices will decide,” and “includes but not limited to...” If the rules do not define the most basic terms, how can candidates or committees follow the law?

The State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee is now required to poll legislators and ask them to express what they, as policymakers for Montana, intended the bill to mean, not what an appointed person making the rules intended for the bill. Hope is that we can get this understood, so many candidates do not end up in court battles during the election cycle.

Gov. Bullock, who just stepped down as chair of the Democratic Governors’ Association, helped raise $17 million during his year in that office and attended many meetings discussing money and strategy to get Democrats elected. Is it “coordination” knowing he has intimate knowledge of campaign funds going into each state including his own race in Montana and the targeted races using this money?

When trying to sort out the “fair and equal” question, remember that Commissioner Motl was appointed by this governor. This is just one example of why we need to get this poll done so we are all playing by the same rules and not playing “gotcha” during upcoming campaigns.

My hope is that this rulemaking doesn’t discourage committed Montanans from seeking public office. I will be filing my final paperwork with the Commissioner of Political Practices in January, and I believe my oft-repeated words from a country-western song, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.”

I believe dark money should be taken out of elections. I also believe that no matter what side of the aisle, each should be playing by the same rules, written in black and white and devoid of one person’s interpretation.

Brown, a Hungry Horse Republican, represents Senate District 2 and is chair of the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee.