Following the indictment of former House Speaker Larry Householder on federal racketeering charges in the biggest bribery case in Ohio history, lawmakers are seeking to shed more light on dark money groups through legislation.

House Bill 13, entitled the Light of Day Bill, is currently in committee and requires nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose contributions and expenditures.

These organizations currently do not have to disclose contributions and disclose limited information on expenditures on forms filed annually with the IRS.

House Bill 306, entitled the Ohio Anti-Corruption Act, was introduced this week, and requires 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose contributions and more information about the ownership of the organization.

The bill also prohibits foreign companies from making political contributions directly or indirectly through nonprofit organizations.

A bill to shine light on dark money groups is the latest attempt to ensure better transparency in Ohio’s political spending.

House Bill 13 would end an exception for nonprofit 501(c)(4) groups who are currently not required by Ohio law to disclose who funds them.

While these nonprofits are to promote general social welfare and cannot spend a majority of resources on political activity, there is opportunity for flouting the rules, allowing dark money groups to influence elections without being publicly exposed.

House Bill 13 would require disclosure of donations to the nonprofit meant to influence elections, but would allow groups to separate their accounts to limit such disclosures.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte repealed two executive orders issued by former Gov. Steve Bullock.

Executive Order 15-2018 required companies to report political spending if they wanted to bid on large state contracts.

The order also required companies bidding for certain state contracts to disclose political donations made within 60 days of an election.

The second order allowed county election clerks to expand voting by mail for the November general election to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The order also required counties to offer in-person voting, but it did not require polling places to be open on election day.

A federal judge on Monday upheld an executive order by Gov. Steve Bullock requiring companies to report political spending if they want to bid on large state contracts.

U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell ruled the Illinois Opportunity Project does not have the legal standing to challenge the governor’s 2018 order requiring reporting of contributions even to so called dark money groups.

Judge Lovell had dismissed the complaint in January due to lack of standing.

However, he gave the Illinois Opportunity Project another chance to prove the executive order would cause it to suffer an actual or imminent, as opposed to hypothetical, loss of a legally protected right.

Under Bullock’s order, companies submitting bids for contracts valued at more than $25,000 for services or $50,000 for goods must disclose two years’ worth of political spending if the spending exceeds $2,500.

The order allows Montana to bring transparency to spending by groups classified as social welfare organizations under the federal tax code.

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) voted to require more transparency and disclosure of those who use limited liability companies (LLC’s) to make political contributions.

Aditionally, they would require campaigns to list the name of the actual person who directed the LLC political spending.

The first new regulation requires LLC’s involved in raising and spending money for political activity to name the person making the decisions.

The second new regulation requires campaigns receiving donations from LLC’s to also list the name of the person responsible for the political activity.

A 2019 FPPC Enforcement Division examination of LLC’s found it was relatively easy to find information about the type of business, its address and an agent for service of process.

However, it was extremely difficult to find the identities of the people behind the LLC’s owners or the true source of the political expenditures.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has declared portions of the state’s campaign finance laws restricting issue advertising unconstitutional. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc. and its state political action committee sued the Government Accountability Board (GAB) to prevent enforcement of state statutes and rules against issue advocacy groups spending money for political speech independently of candidates and parties.

The decision prevents GAB from enforcing both the state’s ban on political spending by corporations and the amount a corporation may spend on fundraising for an affiliated political action committee. The ruling will also affect a secret John Doe investigation into conservative organizations suspected of illegally coordinating with Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign during the state’s partisan recall elections.

“Swing-State Stations Are Election Winners” by Amy Schatz and Suzanne Vranica in the Wall Street Journal.

“Political Spending on Television Media Projected to Reach $5.2 billion” by Cirina Catania in Technorati.

“Political Ad Season Has Really Begun” by Elspeth Reeve in The Atlantic.

“Political Perceptions: Ad Burnout Ahead?” by Gerald F. Seib in the Wall Street Journal.

“Ind. political ads suspended on 9/11” by The Associated Press in WISH TV.

“Ads: A state-by-state breakdown of who’s spending where” by Domenico Montanaro on NBC News.