The House Rules Committee voted Wednesday to recommend a change in the chamber’s rules so that state representatives who are running for federal office can accept campaign contributions during the fiscal session, which begins Feb. 10.
All House members are barred from fundraising during the fiscal session under the current rules. Senate rules prohibit fundraising during regular sessions of the Legislature but allow it during fiscal sessions.
Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, a congressional candidate in the 4th District, had asked the committee to clarify the rule.
Rep. Ann Clemmer - the only other House member running for federal office - serves on the rules committee but did not participate in the vote. Clemmer, R-Benton, is seeking the 2nd Congressional District seat.
Committee members considered several proposals before settling on the recommendation, including allowing all members to raise money during the fiscal session.
Lawmakers discussed whether to leave the rule as it is, change it or reinterpret its meaning in a way that would allow congressional candidates to raise money during the fiscal session.
But Rep. Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, said he had concerns about interpreting the rule to allow fundraising, when he said it is clear that the rule forbids it. Williams said he would be more comfortable asking the full House to suspend or modify the rule when the fiscal session convenes Feb. 10.
“I’m just concerned that we don’t go down a slippery slope interpreting what seems pretty clear in a way that muddies the water,” Williams said.
Lawmakers ultimately voted to recommend that the full House change the rule.
House Rule 108 prohibits members from receiving campaign contributions “during the period beginning thirty days before and ending thirty days after any regular session.” It is also a violation “to accept a campaign contribution during any extended session of the General Assembly or during any special session or fiscal session of the General Assembly.”
The language in the rule is derived from a state law that was repealed in 2001, according to a report from the Bureau of Legislative Research.
The law was repealed after the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas ruled that the blackout provision for campaign contributions was unconstitutional, according to the report.
In 2003, the House Rules Committee interpreted the rule to allow contributions for federal elections during a special session.
But in 2010, the committee found that the rule applied to all House members running in any election and that “no member of the House may accept a campaign contribution for any race,” according to the report.
Westerman said he disabled the section of his website that allowed campaign contributions during the special session in October. But he said he decided to ask the committee about the rule after he did some research on the topic and found the blackout period may violate federal elections law.
Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison, agreed that it was a “bad rule” that should have been addressed during the session. He said suspending the rule during the fiscal session should not be seen as “self-serving” because it’s a “clear violation of FEC regulation and law.”
But Rules Committee Chairman Stephanie Malone, R-Fort Smith, said it would be difficult in 2014 to get legislators to support a rule change to allow fundraising. She said allowing all House members to accept contributions would be a public-relations “nightmare for anybody running for office.”
It would take a two-thirds vote to amend the House rules.
“I think the second you start opening up and taking contributions while you’re in session, you’re going to be pounced on,” Malone said.
Malone said the committee’s decision will allow Westerman and Clemmer to raise money until the start of the session and that “we’ll see what happens” after the House convenes.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/30/2014