Public hearing scheduled for bill to remove contribution limits

The House Rules Committee will hold a public hearing today after morning recess on the house committee substitute for Sen. Charlie Shields' bill, which would remove all campaign contribution limits.

The following description of the bill is offered on the Senate website:

This act repeals the campaign contribution limits for certain candidates running for office.

Individuals and committees required to file campaign disclosure reports shall electronically file contributions exceeding $5,000 within 48 hours of receiving the contribution.

Legislative and senatorial district committees shall retain only one address in the district in which it sits for the purpose of receiving contributions.

Out-of-state committees that make contributions in support of or against candidates or issues in elections shall report the names of its contributors even when the contributions originally made to the out-of-state committee were not made specifically to influence any particular election.

Current law imposes a penalty of twice the amount of the contribution or expenditure that is incorrectly reported up to $5,000. This amendment removes the $5,000 cap and imposes a penalty equal to the amount of the contribution for failing to file or filing incomplete reports.

This act contains an emergency clause.

The final sentence in the description, of course, means that it is so important to remove the contribution limits that the bill will take effect immediately upon receiving the governor's signature bringing a whole new meaning to NCLB- No Contribution Left Behind.