The World Around You

AP reports,

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court Tuesday unanimously reinstated California’s Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, swiftly rejecting a three-judge panel’s decision to put it off for months.

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in quickly, the decision means Election Day is two weeks away.

The 11-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the Sept. 15 decision of a three-judge panel from the same circuit.

The Birmingham News and Montgomery Advertiser lead editorials both address the latest Pew survey, dealing with the quality of the state’s disclosure laws (view the full report here). The Advertiser points out,

In this new study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Alabama ranked a dismal 47th in the quality of its disclosure laws, ahead of only North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. Improvements wouldn’t be difficult to make — if the political will were there to do so. That’s a huge question for Alabama.

Under the current law, candidates file periodic reports with the secretary of state listing contributions exceeding $100 and stating their expenditures. These reports are then posted on the secretary of state’s Web site.

Unlike 36 other states, however, Alabama does not require candidates to report the occupations or employers of contributors. Without that, voters who review the reports can’t tell, for example, whether numerous employees of a particular company are contributing to a candidate. That information could be useful, especially if the candidate is seeking an office in which the decisions made affect that company or if, once elected, the official begins favoring that concern.

The News suggests what needs to change,

End PAC-to-PAC transfers. There’s no reason PACs need to shift money back and forth, other than to hide the original source of the contribution.

Require candidates to file electronically. Nearly half the states already require electronic filing instead of paper filing. With electronic filing, contributions are instantly transmitted to the secretary of state’s office and are available to voters almost immediately, which keeps candidates from waiting until just before an election to accept a big contribution they hope to keep secret. Electronic filing also allows records to be kept in a searchable database, not available under the current system.

Pay for electronic filing by charging PACs a registration fee. Currently, a PAC can be created simply by filling out a few forms. There are more than 500 PACs registered in Alabama.

Require candidates not only to report the name and amount of a contribution, but the occupation of the person making the contribution.

Add this to the list of reforms that must take place to start the process of restoring Alabamians trust in government. The citizens have a right to know.