Crosscut
No budget, no campaign funds
State elected officials cannot raise campaign money when the Legislature is in session. But they can raise money during periods between special sessions, which is exactly what happened last year while efforts to reach a biennial operating budget compromise dragged on.
On Tuesday, State Sen.Joe Fain, R-Auburn, filed paperwork for a bill that would expand the fundraising restriction in odd-numbered years, the years when the Legislature puts together the state's biennial operating budgets. The bill would forbid fundraising by elected officials until a biennial budget is passed — eliminating quickie fundraising surges between special sessions if budget talks go into overtime. — J.S.