Candidates running for Pennsylvania House or Senate would be required to file more regular campaign finance reports if a new bill makes its way through Congress.
That bill, House Bill 1220, was written by State Representative Robert Freeman of Northampton County. According to a press release, it was approved this week by the House State Government Committee.
H.B. 1220 seeks to amend the Pennsylvania Election Code, which currently requires General Assembly candidates to file campaign expense reports ten days prior to an election. Freeman’s bill would require these reports to also be filed six weeks before the election.
Representative Freeman explained that the current deadline is too close to election day, and that information about where candidates are getting contributions from often gets lost in the chaos of the final campaign week.
Requiring an additional filing at an earlier date would “allow voters to see who is backing which candidates and what they stand for, or more importantly, who they stand with,” according to Freeman.
Additionally, Freeman notes the benefits it would have for candidates, who would have less to report on the filing date immediately before the election since the new date was so recent.
Freeman’s bill is co-sponsored by Representative Steve Samuelson of Northampton County, as well as Representatives from Monroe, Chester, Philadelphia, and Montgomery Counties.
The bill will seek approval in the Democratic controlled House. Its fate is unknown in the GOP controlled Senate.
