Lawmakers introduce campaign corporate spending bills
from Alaska Dispatch: Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat and candidate for governor, has led the charge in a fast state response. “Disclose your expenses and put disclaimers in your ads so we can understand who is speaking to us,” said French, summarizing the intent.
Campaign finance bill tailored to attorney general opinion
from the Anchorage Daily News: A state senator pushing a bill to require corporations and labor unions to disclose their spending on Alaska political campaigns said it appears to address the issues raised by Alaska’s attorney general in an opinion issued Friday night. State Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he’s asking legislative attorneys to check the opinion against his committee’s campaign reform measure, Senate Bill 284.
Lawmakers aim to limit corporate election campaigning
from the News Tribune:Several Alaska lawmakers introduced bills Friday aimed at limiting the role of corporations in elections, a move that comes a month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state and federal bans on corporate and union spending for political candidates. “Here in Alaska, we’ve have seen far too clearly the corrupting influence corporations can have when they decide to get too closely involved in the political process,” French said, referring to the case of an oil services executive who was sentenced to federal prison last year for bribing state lawmakers.
Lawmakers take action to limit corporate influence
from KTUU Channel 2: A group of lawmakers in Juneau is taking action to limit corporate influence on elections. They introduced a pair of bills Friday in response to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. “We felt that it was imperative to act. It’s as clear as daylight that unless we act, corporations would probably not even have to report to APOC the spending they did,” French, D-Anchorage, said.
French: Panel to ‘contain’ campaign court decision
from The Juneau Empire: Corporations won’t have to disclose their spending for or against candidates this election year unless lawmakers force them to, a Senate committee concluded Wednesday. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Hollis French said he wants the panel to do just that, by putting forth a bill that would “contain” the effects of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared third-party corporate spending on such things as campaign ads as a form of protected free speech.
Legislature examining corporate campaigning
from The Anchorage Daily News: Alaska lawmakers say it appears all bets are now off when it comes to corporate and union spending in Alaska elections, with no limits allowed or any requirements for disclosure after the recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Committee Chairman Hollis French said the judiciary committee isn’t going to wait for word from the attorney general and will start on a package of proposed changes to state law. That will include disclosure requirements and possibly an attempt to block corporations with a majority of foreign shareholders from advocating for Alaska candidates.
Judiciary Committee wants to control campaign spending
from KTUU Channel 2: The state Senate Judiciary Committee is trying to control spending this campaign season. “We’ve got to fall back and write a bill and get something on the books before this legislature gavels out in 75 days and so we’ve got to get busy,” said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage.
Do corporations now have more free speech rights than people?
from The Fairbanks News-Miner: Parts of Alaska campaign finance law will have to be rewritten to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision that says corporations are people too, when it comes to campaign spending. Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat and the committee chairman, said the committee will work on a bill to update state law.
Senator hosts hearings on Supreme Court campaign finance ruling
from the Fairbanks News-Miner: State Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Hollis French will schedule committee hearings next month to investigate the ramifications to Alaska of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on corporate campaign contributions, calling it a “horribly misguided” ruling that creates unease at the “power we’re ceding to corporations, foreign and domestic, into Alaska’s public affairs.”
Alaska Politicians Assessing Fallout from Campaign Decision
from APRN: Alaskans are trying to understand the full effects of Thursday’s US Supreme Court decision that will allow corporations to become more involved in political campaigns. Senate Judiciary Chairman Hollis French announced on the senate floor Friday that he will initiate hearings on the decision and called the ruling “disastrous for the future of democracy.”
