PREMIER’S PLEDGE SHOULD PROMPT A FALL SITTING
Report offers three options on disclosing political donations
Premier Christy Clark tried to deflect the controversy over political fundraising earlier this year by promising to expedite disclosure of the vast wads of cash being gathered by her B.C. Liberal party.
“People should be able to see when donations come in to political parties, not just once a year,” she told reporters, referring to the annual disclosure requirement in place now. “It would help, I think, make the process more transparent.”
She pledged that the government would reach out to Chief Electoral Officer Keith Archer “to help us change the law so that we can log in the donations in real time.”
The notion came from Ontario. That province implemented real-time disclosure a decade ago and two of Clark’s political advisers previously served with the Ontario Liberal government.
After Clark floated the idea on March 31, Attorney General Suzanne Anton put the request in writing to Archer along with a proposed definition of real-time. “I anticipate this would involve disclosure requirements on a quarterly or possibly monthly basis,” she wrote.
Archer accepted the assignment and this week he reported back with a discussion paper made public at elections.bc.ca, the website for his office.
He began by noting how the paper was a bit of a rush job. He’d not had the time to consult party representatives or other stakeholders in the political process — or, for that matter, the public.
Having said that, he set out three options for expedited disclosure of campaign contributions, drawing on experience elsewhere.
• One was the “real-time” system in Ontario. Parties there are required to disclose contributions to that province’s electoral officer within 10 business days of receipt. Elections Ontario then has a further 10 days to post the details online.
The switch to the Ontario system would consume a lot of time and resources for the players in the political system (parties, candidates, fundraisers) as well the election watchdog himself.
“These new rules will require Elections B.C. to make significant changes to internal processes and systems, update forms and guides, and conduct a comprehensive education campaign for the impacted client groups,” wrote Archer. “The implications for client groups as a whole are estimated to be high.” He reckons 15 to 21 months of work, an initial outlay of $275,000 and annual administrative costs of $150,000. Because of the complexities, his staff would not be able to get started on the changeover until after the books are closed on the May 9, 2017 election.
• Archer also looked at the “last-minute disclosure” used in some U.S. jurisdictions, which provides for the donations to be made public within 24 to 48 hours of the money going into a bank account of the candidate or party.
“It appears that the data from the last-minute reports are published automatically upon receipt without any intervention by the election management body,” wrote Archer. “This ensures that all but the contributions received at the very last moment are disclosed prior to voting day.”
Just the ticket if the government wanted to make a really dramatic shift from the current practice.
“Requiring the disclosure of political contributions within 24 or 48 hours is as close to real time disclosure as is reasonably possible and would make B.C. a leader,” wrote Archer. “It provides the most transparency of the three options presented in this discussion paper.”
But again, he had to caution about the implications in terms of time and resources. The outlay would be about the same as with the 10-day option; consequently Elections B.C. would be unable to tackle the changeover until after the coming provincial election.
• The chief electoral officer says the only option that would expedite real-time disclosure before the May election is the quarterly or monthly variation suggested by the government.
He pegs the cost of going over to quarterly or monthly disclosure at $75,000 up front and $100,000 a year thereafter. But the real advantage over the other two options would be in the time needed to change over.
“Elections B.C. believes it could implement these rules within three months of the enabling legislation receiving royal assent during the fall 2016 legislative session,” says Archer.
If monthly disclosure were the chosen option, it could be underway as early as February.
“Because it’s so similar to what we’re doing presently, the administrative requirements for putting this in place are not as onerous,” Archer said in an interview Wednesday. “These procedures could be in place prior to the next general election and would improve accountability going into that event.”
The catch is the need for a fall sitting. The legislative calendar has a provision for the house to reconvene on Oct. 3. But lately the B.C. Liberals have been musing about giving it a pass.
“In the fall and winter, before an election, our practice has been to allow MLAs to remain in their constituencies and continue to work at that level,” government house leader Mike de Jong said last week. “More likely than not, there wouldn’t be a fall session, but … there may be something that arises that requires parliament to reconvene.”
Something has arisen. The independent watchdog responded to the premier’s call for real-time disclosure of campaign contributions. All it needs is enabling legislation.
Attorney General Anton said Wednesday the government will study Archer’s paper before deciding how to proceed. But unless the Liberals want to make a mockery of the premier’s promise, they’d better get going on drafting the bill and making plans for a fall session of the legislature.
Requiring the disclosure of political contributions within 24 or 48 hours is as close to real time disclosure as is reasonably possible. KEITH ARCHER, B.C.’ s chief electoral officer