Campaign cash

Some bills are solutions in search of problems. Senate Bill 194 is among them.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, and Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey, R-Reno, would require former candidates and elected officials to dispose of unspent campaign contributions if they don’t seek another office for two years. The bill appears to target former Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who left public life in 2010 and hasn’t run for office since, but still has about $400,000 in unspent contributions.

Ms. Buckley files the required campaign finance reports. A $200 contribution in 2011 from a fellow former office holder, Reno Democrat Sheila Leslie, allows Ms. Buckley to be considered a candidate under state law, regardless of whether she formally files for an office. Ms. Buckley has not ruled out running for office in 2014 or 2016, and she handed out more than $150,000 last year, mostly to Democratic candidates.

The cash in Ms. Buckley’s war chest is from voluntary contributions. Those donors certainly are free to ask for their money back — and Ms. Buckley is free to say no. What difference does it make if she takes 10 years or two years to give the money to nonprofits or other candidates? Of if she decides to wait until 2020 to return to the campaign trail?

Ms. Buckley’s formidable resources make the case for clear reporting of cash on hand, and for allowing the secretary of state to more easily audit campaign finances. Other bills under consideration by the Legislature would accomplish that. The public must be able to see that Ms. Buckley isn’t spending campaign contributions on living expenses or vacations, or otherwise treating her war chest as personal income.

There are more pressing campaign finance reforms than SB 194.