"Follow the money" isn't worth two dead flies in Kansas

[atommom]

Deep Throat's political advice, "Follow the money," is not worth two dead flies to everyday Kansans, where the law blocks efforts to find the source of money used to fund some political campaigns. But a 25-member, bipartisan lawmaking group has come forward with a bill to expose campaign don-ors to public view.


"We believe Kansans have a right to know who is funding campaigns in the state," Rep. Ed O'Malley, R-Roeland Park, said. Loopholes flaw campaign laws, O'Malley said Tuesday in Topeka. "These loopholes have enabled (groups) to spend great deals of money influencing elections throughout the state of Kansas without anyone knowing where the money is coming from or how the money's spent," he said. "We need to get it corrected."


House bill 2559 removes weaknesses identified in a national report paid for by a Pew Charitable Trusts grant. The report gave Kansas campaign laws an "F."


Groups such as Americans for Prosperity influenced 2004 Kansas elections without disclosing funding sources, O'Malley said. "No one knows how much money they spent ... and no one knows who funds that group, but they were very engaged," he said.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16048101&BRD=1459&PAG=461&dept_id=155725&rfi=6