Lawmakers push to expose corrupt ‘dark money’

Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose and a pair of House members have a game plan to diminish the “corrupt and damaging” influence of “dark money” of the type that bankrolled the House Bill 6 pay-to-play scandal.

The Republican and Ohio’s chief elections officer is joining a bipartisan pair of House members in supporting new legislation to require disclose of the source of contributions now hidden from the public.

Reps. Gayle Manning, R-north Ridgeville, and Jessica Miranda, D-forest Park, joined Larose on Monday to sell House Bill 737 as a solution to ending “the shell game of hiding money.”

“We can’t limit the expenditures, but you can make them transparent,” Larose said of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United that permits corporations and other groups to spend unlimited funds on elections and issue advocacy, often without disclosing donors.

“Dark money” is at the heart of the House Bill 6 scandal, in which former House Speaker Larry Householder and four accused co-conspirators are charged with ensuring the bill’s passage for millions in bribes.

In what is labeled a racketeering scheme, about $61 million flowed to

Generation Now, a nonprofit group not required to disclose its contributors, to win and defend the ratepayer bailout of a pair of nuclear power plants.

Millions in dark money was laundered through other dark money groups to help elect Householder-backed GOP candidates and help him win both election as speaker and passage of HB 6, federal authorities charge.

“If you can follow the money, you can figure out what is going on. There’s bad actors out there,” Manning said. She said new Speaker Bob Cupp, R-lima, seems receptive to the bill.

Miranda added: “Now, more than ever, here in 2020 in light of what unfolded in front of our eyes, it’s time to rein the wild, wild west of dark money.”

Here are the highlights of the proposal to bring transparency to spending to influence elections, legislation and other public policy debates:

• Require corporations, nonprofit groups and unincorporated groups to disclose spending and the “original source” of all contributions.

• Mandate the filing of reports disclosing contributions and spending every two months, with larger amounts potentially required to be disclosed within 24 hours.

• Change advertising and TV commercial disclaimers to require disclose of original source of money, potentially including listing the identities and amounts given by the top few contributors.

• Make federally registered political action committees and Super PACS report Ohio-only expenditures and donations to the secretary of state’s office.

• Require petition “blockers,” hired by Generation Now to dissuade people from signing a repeal referendum petition, to register with the state, including the disclosure of employers.

• Give the secretary of state subpoena power to demand financial documents from groups attempting to influence Ohio politics and potentially impose large fines and criminal penalties for noncompliance.

Republican Gov. Mike Dewine also has called for full disclosure of nowhidden dark money, while expressing concerns about a constitutional fix due to the Citizens United ruling.

“We will do whatever we can to have more openness and we will come back with a recommendation to the General Assembly,” Dewine said last week. rludlow@dispatch.com @Randyludlow