New Law Bolsters Transparency and Accountability
BOSTON – Governor Baker (R-Swampscott) signed into law An Act relative to campaign finance, sponsored by State Senator Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen), which increases transparency and accountability in the Commonwealth’s elections by reforming fiscal reporting requirements.
The depository reporting system, run through the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF)—the independent state agency that administers Massachusetts’ campaign finance law—directs candidates for public office to submit to stringent campaign finance reporting requirements. Previously the legislature and some mayoral candidates were exempt from the law that requires statewide, county and many other municipal candidates to use this reporting system. An Act relative to campaign finance remedies this disparity by requiring that all legislative and mayoral candidates in Massachusetts participate in the depository system.
“It’s important that voters be able to quickly access information about who is donating to candidates and where candidates are spending their money,” said DiZoglio. “This law takes a step in the right direction by moving legislators into the depository system and requiring that we file our reports more often. It’s essential that we move forward with improving good government practices and I’m grateful that this legislation has been enacted into law before the New Year.”
By including all legislative and mayoral candidates in the depository reporting system, the law increases accountability by requiring more frequent reports disclosing campaign contributions and confirmation of expenditures reported in monthly statements filed by their designated financial institutions. By increasing filing frequency and pairing candidate disclosures with bank reporting, the law enhances transparency in statewide campaign finance activity.
The revised process will assist OCPF in identifying discrepancies between candidates’ public disclosures of campaign finance activity and their bank accounting records, allowing OCPF to more promptly address issues associated with data entry errors, missed deposits, balance issues and uncashed checks. In addition, the change will make it easier to see how much money a candidate is raising and spending during the course of the entire election cycle.
