American Anti-Corruption Act

The “American Anti-Corruption Act” (AACA) is proposed legislation originally crafted in 2011 "by former Federal Election Commission chairman Trevor Potter in consultation with dozens of strategists, democracy reform leaders and constitutional attorneys from across the political spectrum".[1] It is designed to limit or outlaw practices perceived to be major contributors to political corruption.[2] Its provisions cover three areas:[3]

All the provisions of the act are based on existing law in some parts of the U.S. that have withstood court challenges and are therefore likely constitutional.[4]

The apparent constitutionality makes it possible for local and state governments to enact versions of the AACA. This grass-roots approach makes the AACA very different from electoral reforms that require a constitutional amendment such as overturning Citizens United being pushed by groups like Move to Amend. The AACA is being promoted by Represent.Us,[5] which is working to create local chapters of "conservatives, progressives and everyone in between" to push local and state laws "that meet the standards of the American Anti-Corruption Act".. On July 14, 2014, Princeton, NJ, "became the first municipality in the country to adopt an Anti-Corruption Resolution sponsored by Represent.Us".[6] The Princeton resolution mentions six of the eleven provisions in the original AACA draft;[7] see the table below. On Nov. 4, 2014, Tallahassee, FL, became the first governmental entity to enact binding measures inspired by the AACA; 67 percent of Tallahassee voters approved a referendum[8] covering four of the eleven AACA provisions[9] summarized in the table below. It was crafted and promoted by a broad, Right-Left coalition that included Tea Party groups and Common Cause. "Also in 2014, voters passed anti-corruption resolutions in two Massachusetts districts (2 and 19)[10] and in Genoa, Illinois with votes ranging from 72% to 89% in favor",[11] according to SustainableBusiness.com.

The AACA has three goals: Stop bribery, end secret money, and empower voters.[12] The following table summarizes the 11 "full provisions" of the AACA in comparison with a summary provided by Represent.Us and with the resolution adopted by Princeton, NJ, and the referendum that obtained 67 percent of the votes in Tallahassee.

Survey results

An opinion poll commissioned by Represent.Us found that 90 percent of respondents support tighter limits on campaign finance, and 97 percent would support stronger anti-corruption measures. "The poll also tested the popularity of some potential reforms, giving respondents a menu of 11 options and asking them to pick three. Forty-seven percent picked barring politicians from taking money from industries they regulate ... . Thirty-seven percent picked dramatically reducing the amount of money lobbyists can give to candidates and parties, while 31% picked putting tough limits on super PACs", according to the MSNBC summary of the survey.[13]

Comparing anti-corruption measures

The following table compares the anti-corruption measures adopted by Princeton, NJ, and Tallahassee, mentioned above, with the official text of the American Anti-Corruption Act, 9-point summary, and the three reform areas mentioned above:

The American Anti-Corruption Act (AACA)

(Nov. 13, 2012)[14]

 Area(*) AACA Summary[15] Princeton, NJ, Resolution, July 14, 2014[7] Tallahassee Anti-Corruption Referendum, Nov. 4, 2014[8]
1. Prohibit politicians from raising funds from interests they regulate and from taking actions to benefit interests that spend heavily to influence their elections. b 1a yes ?[16]
2. Limit campaign contributions and fundraising activities by lobbyists. b 5a no max $250 contribution from anyone[17]
3. Close the revolving door. b 3 yes ?[18]
4. Prohibit campaign contributions from government contractors and primary associates. b 5b no ?[19]
5. Extend contribution limits on PACs to Super PACs. b 2a yes ?[18]
6. Give each registered voter a $100 tax rebate every other year that they may contribute to qualifying political candidates, parties and committees. v 7 yes Registered voters can get a refund of $25 each year for a campaign contribution.[20]
7. Revise the FEC's coordination regulations to restrict coordination between candidates and "independent expenditures." s 2b ? ?[18]
8. Prohibit politicians from fundraising during normal working hours and require disclosure of fundraising by legislators during legislative sessions. b 1b no ?[19]
9. Everyone who lobbies or helps lobbyists is a lobbyist. b 4 no ?[18]
10. Increase transparency of fundraising and spending including disclosing bundlers. s 6, 8 yes 2. The Ethic Board shall ... recommend … ordinances [re.] disclosure ...
11. Improve enforcement. b, s 9 yes sect. 2

(*) Three areas (see above): Limit bribery (b) and campaign secrecy (s) while empowering voters (v).

References

  1. ↑ The American Anti-Corruption Act, UnitedRepublic.org, retrieved 2014-12-05
  2. ↑ About Represent.Us, UnitedRepublic.org, retrieved 2014-12-05
  3. ↑ Criminalize Corruption, Represent.Us, retrieved 2015-02-14
  4. ↑ The American Anti-Corruption Act: Constitutionality, Represent.Us, 2012, retrieved 2014-12-05
  5. ↑ Represent.Us, UnitedRepublic.org, 2014, retrieved 2014-12-05 The advisory board of Represent.Us includes Conservatives and Liberals. These include Mark McKinnon, a communications consultant and political adviser to both Republicans and Democrats as well as leading figures in other fields, business magnate Russell Simmons and Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig. Its Director is Josh Silver, who is also a co-founder and the CEO of UnitedRepublic.org.t
  6. ↑ Restivo, Sabrina (July 15, 2014), "Princeton Council Passes an Anti-Corruption Resolution", Princeton Patch (Patch.com), retrieved 2014-12-05
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 McDermott, Linda S. (July 14, 2014), 2014: Of the Mayor and Council of Princeton Supporting Anti-Corruption Legislation, Clerk, City of Princeton, County of Mercer, State of New Jersey, retrieved 2014-12-05
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Blumenthal, Paul (2014-11-05), "Tallahassee Voters Said No To Big Money, Corruption In City Politics", Huffington Post (2014-11-04), retrieved 2014-12-05
  9. ↑ Referendum Amending City of Tallahassee Charter, 1400 Village Square Blvd. #3-153, Tallahassee, FL 32312: Citizens for Ethics Reform, 2014, retrieved 2014-12-06
  10. ↑ Galvin, William Francis (2014), Massachusetts Election Statistics, Question 6, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, retrieved 2014-12-07
  11. ↑ "Anti-Corruption Activists Revved Up By Tallahassee", SustainableBusiness.com News (SustainableBusiness.com), 2014-11-10, retrieved 2014-12-06
  12. ↑ We have a plan to win. Here it is, UnitedRepublic.org, 2014, retrieved 2014-12-06
  13. ↑ Roth, Zachary (2013-12-03), "Fighting corruption polls off the charts", MSNBC, retrieved 2014-12-06
  14. ↑ The American Anti-Corruption Act: Full Provisions, UnitedRepublic.org, 2012-11-13, retrieved 2014-12-06
  15. ↑ The American Anti-Corruption Act: Summary of Provisions, UnitedRepublic,org, 2012, retrieved 2015-01-14
  16. ↑ Section 2 of the referendum says, "The Ethics Board shall" recommend ordinances to cover a variety of issues. The issues mentioned are essentially those with question marks in this column of this table. The City Commission may then take action it deems appropriate.
  17. ↑ Section 4a of the referendum.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Section 4a
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Secton 4a
  20. ↑ Sections 4b, c, d.