By PIERRE — A committee of state senators advanced three bills Wednesday, Jan. 22 at the Capitol that would put new limits on loans to campaign finance committees and contributions by inactive committees, and require more reporting by inactive committees.
The bills now head to the full state Senate. Sen. Michael Rohl, R-Aberdeen, introduced all three of the bills.
Capping campaign loans
One of the bills addresses the unlimited amount someone can loan to a campaign in South Dakota.
Rohl
The legislation is a response to the most recent election cycle, when Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden reported a $100,000 contribution to his own Dakota First Action committee. The contribution exceeded the state’s $10,000 limit on individual contributions to political action committees.
Doeden later amended the report, reclassifying the contribution as a loan. Current state law allows loans to be forgiven, effectively providing a way to nullify contribution limits.
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Doeden
“Now that this loophole has been exposed, it’s no longer a loophole now,” Rohl said. “It’s a pathway. Now, every single person in the state knows about it. Every single person in the state can do it, and we, essentially, no longer have campaign finance limits in the state of South Dakota.”
Perry
The bill reads that any loan, when combined with contributions from the same source, cannot exceed the existing contribution limits outlined in state law.
The bill passed in a bipartisan 6-3 vote.
Two of the three no votes came from lawmakers who received donations from Doeden’s political action committee: Sens. Tom Pischke, R-Dell Rapids, and Carl Perry, R-Aberdeen. The other no vote came from Sen. Kevin Jensen, R-Canton.
“There are a lot of loose ends in what this plan is proposing, and I think it’s just not ready for prime time,” Perry said.
Limiting contributions from inactive candidates
Another bill proposes new restrictions on contributions from inactive candidate committees.
The candidate committees associated with politicians who are no longer actively seeking office sometimes retain significant balances and can make unlimited contributions to other candidates and committees. The bill would impose the same contribution limits on inactive candidate committees that other committees face.
Rohl said the bill is intended to curb the ability of defunct or dormant campaigns to wield disproportionate influence in active races.
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“This bill would ensure that inactive committees are treated like any other entity, with the same donation limits,” Rohl said.
The bill passed in a bipartisan 7-2 vote, with no votes from Pischke and Perry.
More campaign finance reporting
Another of Rohl’s bills would make various political committees file campaign finance reports ahead of the primary election and general election, in addition to a year-end report, whether they have an active campaign or not.
Failing to do so would be a misdemeanor.
Rohl told South Dakota Searchlight that current state law allows a lawmaker not running in a primary election to collect and spend money without reporting it until the end of the year, “which lets politicians hide money for their friends or allies.”
That bill passed unanimously.