Legislature passes significant changes in Nebraska in New Election Law Approved Today

Legislative bill update: What passed Thursday

Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska in New Election Law Changes

Lawmakers passed a measure Thursday to take a law regulating campaign spending off the books in order to comply with recent court rulings that it was unconstitutional. Lawmakers also gave final approval to measures dealing with early voting, sexually transmitted diseases and ignition interlock

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In addition to taking the law off the books, Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery’s bill (LB79), will take some $630,000 of the $920,000 in the old Campaign Finance Limitation Act fund — which was used to pay matching funds to candidates — and buy computer software and equipment so campaigns can file their financial reports electronically with the state Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Now, those reports are done on paper and commission staff type the data in so it can be viewed on the commission’s website.

The other $290,000 in the fund will be used to buy equipment for the Secretary of State’s Office.

The money in the Campaign Finance Limitation Act fund was collected from civil penalties and late filing fees paid by campaigns that broke the accountability and disclosure laws and from donations people gave via a checkoff on their state tax returns.

In overturning the law in August, Nebraska’s high court cited a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down part of an Arizona law that gives money to publicly funded candidates facing privately funded opponents and independent groups. The Arizona law was passed in the wake of a public corruption scandal and was intended to reward candidates who forgo raising campaign cash, even in the face of opponents’ heavy spending fueled by private money.