Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A black political organization has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that bans the transfer of campaign contributions between political action committees, even though blacks in the House and Senate voted for the legislation.
The lawsuit by the Alabama Democratic Conference, the black wing of the state Democratic Party, was filed earlier this month in federal court in Birmingham. It says the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers violates the ADC's free speech rights and hurts its efforts to get black voters to the polls. ADC chairman Joe Reed says the ban restricts the Democratic Party's ability to transfer money to the ADC's efforts to get out the vote in black communities.
"It has the effect of undermining the black vote. It's directly tied to the role the Democratic Conference has played in the political process," Reed said.
But black legislators, particularly in the Alabama House, have historically supported efforts to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers and heavily backed the bill by Republican Rep. Mac McCutcheon of Capshaw in Limestone County. Critics of the process of financing campaigns have long complained that candidates could hide the source of their money by moving funds from one PAC to another, making it nearly impossible for voters to determine who gave the initial contribution.
Former Democratic Rep. Jeff McLaughlin of Guntersville, who was defeated in last year's elections, sponsored the bill for much of the last decade. Most years it passed the House with unanimous or near unanimous support only to fail in the Senate, often failing to come up for a vote on the Senate floor. After Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate last year, then Gov. Bob Riley called a special session to consider ethics reform, including the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers.
With McCutcheon sponsoring the bill in the special session, it again sailed through the House and received final passage on a 104-0 vote, receiving support from black and white lawmakers. The bill was more hotly debated and amended several times in the Senate but still passed 32-0. After going to a conference committee, the final version of the bill passed without opposition in the House and the Senate.
McCutcheon said during debate of the bill, particularly in the Senate, there were concerns about how the measure would affect the ADC's get-out-the-vote efforts. But he said most questions were answered and black and white lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the bill.
"If contributors want to give to the ADC, they can still do it. They just can't receive money that comes from another PAC," McCutcheon said. He said the law forces both the Democratic and Republican parties to "take a hard look at contributions."
Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, a black lawmaker who often is outspoken on issues where he believes there is racial injustice, said he is "100 percent for the PAC-to-PAC ban." He said he understands that Reed is trying to help the ADC.
"I just think when people give campaign contributions, the voters should know who the money is coming from," Holmes said.
Reed said he understands that most black legislators supported the PAC-to-PAC ban. But he still believes the law is wrong and unconstitutionally blocks ADC's ability to raise money.
"My first amendment rights can't be abrogated, undermined or diluted just because a bill got black or white support in the Legislature," Reed said.
Reed pointed out that he has consistently expressed concerns about the ban and several years ago spoke against what was then McLaughlin's bill in a Senate committee. At that time he said it would make it hard for the ADC to raise money for get-out-the-vote efforts.
Republican Speaker Mike Hubbard criticized the lawsuit and said Reed, a vice chairman of the Democratic Party, has political motives.
"It is the height of hypocrisy for Democrats to try and weaken this law after both parties publicly supported and voted in favor of banning PAC-to-PAC transfers," Hubbard said. "This has never been a partisan issue. Both parties came together to pass this critical reform without a single dissenting vote."
A black legislator, Rep. Oliver Robinson, D-Birmingham, said he understands Reed's position, but he has always supported campaign reform efforts, including the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers.
"We (black legislators) always supported McLaughlin's bill. We couldn't turn in the middle of the road just because a Republican was now handling the bill," Robinson said.
Robinson said what to do with money from political action committees has never been a big issue for him because "there's not a lot of money out there to be raised" in his urban, mostly low income Birmingham district.
The lawsuit by the Alabama Democratic Conference, the black wing of the state Democratic Party, was filed earlier this month in federal court in Birmingham. It says the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers violates the ADC's free speech rights and hurts its efforts to get black voters to the polls. ADC chairman Joe Reed says the ban restricts the Democratic Party's ability to transfer money to the ADC's efforts to get out the vote in black communities.
"It has the effect of undermining the black vote. It's directly tied to the role the Democratic Conference has played in the political process," Reed said.
But black legislators, particularly in the Alabama House, have historically supported efforts to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers and heavily backed the bill by Republican Rep. Mac McCutcheon of Capshaw in Limestone County. Critics of the process of financing campaigns have long complained that candidates could hide the source of their money by moving funds from one PAC to another, making it nearly impossible for voters to determine who gave the initial contribution.
Former Democratic Rep. Jeff McLaughlin of Guntersville, who was defeated in last year's elections, sponsored the bill for much of the last decade. Most years it passed the House with unanimous or near unanimous support only to fail in the Senate, often failing to come up for a vote on the Senate floor. After Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate last year, then Gov. Bob Riley called a special session to consider ethics reform, including the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers.
With McCutcheon sponsoring the bill in the special session, it again sailed through the House and received final passage on a 104-0 vote, receiving support from black and white lawmakers. The bill was more hotly debated and amended several times in the Senate but still passed 32-0. After going to a conference committee, the final version of the bill passed without opposition in the House and the Senate.
McCutcheon said during debate of the bill, particularly in the Senate, there were concerns about how the measure would affect the ADC's get-out-the-vote efforts. But he said most questions were answered and black and white lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the bill.
"If contributors want to give to the ADC, they can still do it. They just can't receive money that comes from another PAC," McCutcheon said. He said the law forces both the Democratic and Republican parties to "take a hard look at contributions."
Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, a black lawmaker who often is outspoken on issues where he believes there is racial injustice, said he is "100 percent for the PAC-to-PAC ban." He said he understands that Reed is trying to help the ADC.
"I just think when people give campaign contributions, the voters should know who the money is coming from," Holmes said.
Reed said he understands that most black legislators supported the PAC-to-PAC ban. But he still believes the law is wrong and unconstitutionally blocks ADC's ability to raise money.
"My first amendment rights can't be abrogated, undermined or diluted just because a bill got black or white support in the Legislature," Reed said.
Reed pointed out that he has consistently expressed concerns about the ban and several years ago spoke against what was then McLaughlin's bill in a Senate committee. At that time he said it would make it hard for the ADC to raise money for get-out-the-vote efforts.
Republican Speaker Mike Hubbard criticized the lawsuit and said Reed, a vice chairman of the Democratic Party, has political motives.
"It is the height of hypocrisy for Democrats to try and weaken this law after both parties publicly supported and voted in favor of banning PAC-to-PAC transfers," Hubbard said. "This has never been a partisan issue. Both parties came together to pass this critical reform without a single dissenting vote."
A black legislator, Rep. Oliver Robinson, D-Birmingham, said he understands Reed's position, but he has always supported campaign reform efforts, including the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers.
"We (black legislators) always supported McLaughlin's bill. We couldn't turn in the middle of the road just because a Republican was now handling the bill," Robinson said.
Robinson said what to do with money from political action committees has never been a big issue for him because "there's not a lot of money out there to be raised" in his urban, mostly low income Birmingham district.
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