Florida bill repealing public campaign finance likely won’t see vote – Thanks to a Republican Committee Chairman! Almost every time you notice our government being unwise it can be traced back to a public policy distorted by the influence of a special interest.
“This is an unwise use of taxpayers’ dollars,” Hays said. “Think of all the good that $11 million could do for women and children in a budget year like this.”
Villalobos flatly rejected the argument. Checking the power of special interests will save taxpayers much more money in the long run, he said.
Derided by critics as “welfare for politicians,” Florida’s 22-year tradition of public financing for political campaigns is likely to survive another year.
A powerful Senate chairman said Tuesday that a proposal to repeal the system won’t be heard by the Senate before lawmakers end their 60-day session on Friday.
“I believe in the public financing of campaigns,” said Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami.
The House voted 116-0 earlier this month to approve a measure (HB 277) by Rep. Alan Hays that would have asked voters in November to repeal public campaign financing. The system applies only to statewide races for governor and cabinet and uses state tax dollars to match contributions from private donors.
In exchange for the money, candidates agree to limit spending.
The idea is to squelch the influence of special interests and give grassroots candidates a better chance to compete.
But Hays, a Republican from Umatilla, and other conservative critics are indignant that the state is financing political campaigns at a time when a budget crisis is forcing them to trim state spending by more than $4 billion.
The system cost taxpayers $11 million in 2006, some of which fueled the campaigns of Gov. Charlie Crist and his Democratic opponent, Jim Davis.
“This is an unwise use of taxpayers’ dollars,” Hays said. “Think of all the good that $11 million could do for women and children in a budget year like this.”
Villalobos flatly rejected the argument. Checking the power of special interests will save taxpayers much more money in the long run, he said.
“Believe me, the people pay for it when the lobbyists pay for it,” Villalobos said.
The system has been a political lightning rod since lawmakers first adopted it in 1986. Voters put it in the state constitution in 1998.
If voters adopted Hays’ amendment, it would be the final nail in the coffin.
Republican leaders seriously watered it down in 2005 when they essentially doubled the spending limits, raising them to $20.5 million and $10.2 million for governor and cabinet races respectively.
Earlier this month, Democratic supporters won a rare victory to reverse the trend. Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, attached an amendment to Hays’ legislation that would restore the tighter spending limits if voters rejected the repeal.
Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause of Florida, said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the repeal measure will stay buried in committee.
“It would be a shame if they did pull it out of committee and put it on the floor; there were a lot of people who wanted to speak about this issue,” Wilcox said. “Then again, maybe there’s just a lot of fatigue from putting so many things in the constitution.”
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