The provisions of a campaign finance reform bill passed by the Council of the District of Columbia take effect January 31, 2015. The special election set for April 28, 2015, will be the first test to the new restrictions found in Bill 20-0076.

However, according to the Office of Campaign Finance, all campaigns registering prior to the effective date of the law will not be subject to its provisions. The new law will only affect those campaigns registering on or after February 1, 2015.

Among the changes, Bill 20-0076 imposes a training requirement for committee treasurers and requires all campaign finance reports to be filed electronically. The new law also restricts contributions from affiliated entities, thereby closing the “LLC loophole”.

The Council of the District of Columbia will soon consider legislation that would establish an independent ethics panel and reduce the amount of money council members can raise to help constituents. Council member Muriel Bowser has crafted draft legislation that seeks to streamline 10 separate reform proposals that have been introduced by council members in the aftermath of several ethics controversies.

The proposal sets up a three-member Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, prohibits lobbyists from offering discounted legal advice to council members, sets limits on how much the mayor and council chairman can accept from donors for transition and inaugural committees, and cuts by half the amount that council members can raise for constituent service funds. The proposal does not impose term limits or prohibit lobbyists from making political contributions as sought by other reform proposals.