Las Vegas Sun political analyst John Ralston nails one, but good.
I challenge you to read every single word. Then, if you live in Nevada, take a moment to feel some deep-seated disgust at the passing of a neutered campaign finance disclosure bill that won’t even kick in until 2011. Then contact your Assembly representative to demand that they give the bill’s balls back (and perhaps lend a pair to GOP Assemblyman James Settelmeyer, whose objections against the measure seem pretty wimpy).
And while you’re at it, contact Sec. of State Ross Miller’s office to suggest that they make online filing easier. Chuck Muth said the following about the process as it exists now:
I have a PAC (political action committee) and once tried filing my [financial report] online. And I gotta tell you, it was a royal pain in the you-know-what. The process set up by the Secretary of State’s office is decidedly not user-friendly and is unduly complicated to navigate and complete. No wonder so many candidates, PACs, and ballot advocacy groups opt to simply fill out the forms by hand.
Miller is on the right track pushing for online reporting, but he also needs to get his own house in order. It shouldn’t be too difficult to allow campaigns using, say, Quickbooks, to import the required information directly into the campaign reporting system at the SoS’s office instead of having to type it out separately a second time.
Timely online transparency should be a requirement not only for campaign finance reporting, but for all publicly funded agencies and organizations. It’s something we can all agree on – or should.
Subject link: Check out the Nevada Project at Sunshine Review.
