Kane opposes a bill that excludes minority participation on political campaign finance

Shrewsbury State Representative Hannah Kane is opposing attempts to alter the make-up of the commission responsible for selecting the director of the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), saying the proposed changes will unfairly limit or exclude minority party participation.

Current law requires the OCPF director to be nominated by a unanimous vote of a four-member commission comprised of the state chairpersons of the two leading political parties, the Secretary of State, and the dean of a Massachusetts law school appointed by the Governor, explains a press release submitted by Kane’s Office.

A bill released by the House Committee on Ways and Means (Chair Aaron Michlewitz, third Suffolk District; Vice-Chair Denise Garlick, 13th Norfolk) on September 25 would expand the commission to five members, require a four-fifths vote to approve a director, and drop the requirement that the Democratic and Republican parties’ state chairs serve as members.

“Massachusetts operating like Washington”

“I often hear from members of both parties that Washington should operate more like Massachusetts, but it seems like Massachusetts is operating just like Washington when we pass bills like this,” said House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, Jr. “The existing process has worked well for almost half a century, so what exactly is the problem we’re trying to fix? This is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem.”

Notwithstanding Representative Kane -who is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means- showed support for the underlying bill, she declared the inclusion of the OCPF commission changes represents a “poison pill” that led her to vote against it, after several attempts to amend the language failed.

House Bill 4087 revises the commission membership to include the Governor, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State, who will be responsible for choosing the remaining two members by a majority vote. One of the members must be an elected municipal official, and one must be an elected county official.

The bill also stipulates that no more than three commissioners can be from the same political party. Representative Kane said this is problematic because it could create a future scenario where, for example, three of the commissioners are Democrats, two are unenrolled, and none are Republicans.

During House floor debate, Kane supported a series of amendments designed to ensure that neither of the state’s major political parties are excluded from the process. The amendments included proposals to:

• Retain the existing commission make-up;
• Continue to require a unanimous vote of the commission when selecting an OCPF director; and
• Require that both leading political parties be represented by at least one commissioner.

Representative Kane also supported a proposed amendment requiring commissioners to undergo a background check before their appointment and prohibiting anyone convicted of a felony from serving on the commission.

The bill, which was engrossed by the House of Representatives on a vote of 121-35, now heads to the Senate for further action.