Douglas still not happy with campaign finance bill

February 8, 2008

MONTPELIER — The House Government Operations Committee gave Gov. Jim Douglas half of what he wanted in a revised campaign finance reform bill — but it may not be enough to avert a veto.

“We continue to have serious concerns about the bill,” Jason Gibbs, spokesman for Douglas, said today.

The House panel weighed whether to give Douglas everything he wanted, but lawmakers decided they were comfortable with the bill as they had written it. They voted 9-0 to send the bill to the full House for a vote Wednesday.

The bill, as written, would take effect immediately. That’s a problem, said Rob Roper, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party. “You are changing the rules in the middle of the campaign season.”

Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, sees minimal legal risk because the Legislature paid attention to the guidelines set out in the U.S. Supreme Court decision. He said, “It’s a common sense bill that allows fair participation in elections while preventing a few political action committees, corporations or individuals from dominating the process.”

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