A watchdog group is urging the Ohio legislature to establish monthly campaign finance filings during the creation of state budgets. The call follows the passage of the state's two year budget. From our Statehouse Bureau, Jo Ingles reports..
Common Cause's Catherine Turcer says Ohioans will have to wait until the end of July to find out who donated to lawmakers from January to June of this year. And she says that's a problem as far as accountability is concerned.
"The folks that are giving during this time period - they tend to be lobbyists, they tend to be PACS, they tend to be trying to gain access and to influence the process and let's face it, you know these contributions are so far away from the next election that, what are they about? They aren't getting the candidates elected. They are about getting access to legislators," Turcer says.
Turcer says most candidates keep track of contributions electronically so it shouldn't be a burden for them to submit the information more often. Common Cause says state legislators have held at least 115 publicly announced fundraisers this year.