02/17/1993 01:40 PM Senate JUD

  SENATOR TAYLOR introduced  SB 49 (YEAR-END  CAMPAIGN FINANCE                 
  REPORTS)  and invited  JOSH FINK,  aide to SENATOR  KELLY to                 
  review the bill.                                                             
                                                                               
  MR.  FINK  explained  SB  49  would  make  some long  needed                 
  adjustment to the campaign reporting  laws, the main feature                 
  being  the  closing of  the  reporting  gap.   He  gave some                 
  history on the  fate of similar legislation  from last year,                 
  and  some general history  on the APOC  reporting gap, which                 
  occurs between the 7 day pre-election report and the 24 hour                 
  reports.                                                                     
  He explained how this obscures the public's right-to-know.                   
                                                                               
  MR. FINK said the bill would  change the deadline for filing                 
  year-end campaign reports from December 31 to February 15th,                 
  and  he  explained the  advantages  of  such  actions.    He                 
  reported APOC  had requested  a couple  of amendments  which                 
  were included in  the legislation.   The first in Section  1                 
  has new  language which clarifies the scope  of the year-end                 
  report, and the second, also in  Section 1, makes the filing                 
  of zero reports  mandatory.  MR. FINK  described the reasons                 
  for the amendments.                                                          
                                                                               
  SENATOR  LITTLE  asked if  there  would  be  a problem  with                 
  including left-over information  on the  April report.   She                 
  explained it would be any information from the last deadline                 
  for the year-end report and the April deadline.                              
                                                                               
  MR. FINK said her year-end report wouldn't really be a year-                 
  end report then, and he  outlined the statutory problem with                 
  her question.  He deferred to  KAREN BOORMAN, from APOC, for                 
  additional answers.                                                          
                                                                               
  Number 312                                                                   
                                                                               
  MS. BOORMAN, Executive Director for  the APUC, explained the                 
  deadline on  the report  and the  April 15  report were  two                 
  separate laws.   The Conflict  of Interest Law  statement is                 
  due April 15, and the other  deadline refers to the Campaign                 
  Disclosure Law.  The February 15  deadline was the result of                 
  issues  raised by legislators giving reasons  for a delay in                 
  their records, and  she said the commission was  amenable to                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  the delay.  She said the  information was still available to                 
  the public in a timely manner.                                               
                                                                               
  MS. BOORMAN reported a zero fiscal note.                                     
                                                                               
  SENATOR TAYLOR said  the bill would be  moved from committee                 
  as soon as there was a quorum.