A Bismarck lawmaker is sponsoring a measure to change North Dakota’s campaign finance laws.
"The goal of the bill is really to build transparency and public trust in our election processes, by bringing more transparency to our campaign finance system," said Sen. Sean Cleary (R-Bismarck).
Cleary said the bill will do that in a couple of ways.
"It requires candidates for statewide and legislative offices, as well as ballot measure, to report all of the expenditures that they make of over $200," Cleary said. "And it requires them to report cash-on-hand, each time they make a campaign finance report."
Cleary said under current law, candidates report donations – but do not have to report how the money is spent.
"So when we talk about rebuilding public trust in how the political process is working, I think adding transparency into that process is a good thing for everybody," Cleary said.
The bill also prohibits using campaign funds for personal expenses.
The Senate Committee on State and Local Government has not yet taken action on the measure.
