Governor's proposals require random audits of campaign finance reports and bar candidates from appearing on ballot with unpaid BOE fines
PROVIDENCE, RI - Governor Gina M. Raimondo, a leading advocate for the Line Item Veto, has also proposed legislation that will strengthen Rhode Island's campaign finance rules, including proposals to require random audits of campaign finances and to bar candidates with unpaid fines levied by the Board of Elections from appearing on the ballot. She first proposed both of these reforms last year and described them in detail in a March 18, 2017 op-ed for the Providence Journal.
"Rhode Islanders deserve a government they can trust. To grow our economy, businesses need the same thing," Governor Raimondo said. "Rhode Islanders and our businesses have strong ethical foundations. My proposals make certain that the people running office follow the highest ethical standards, too. I appreciate the legislature's partnership to strengthen our campaign finance rules, and I hope that this is the year they pass."
The Governor's Deputy Counsel Eileen Cheng will testify in support of these proposals this evening in the Senate Committee on Judiciary. A copy of the Governor's letter of support for this legislation is available here.
In her State of the State address earlier this year, Governor Raimondo called on the legislature to put Line Item Veto on the ballot. "The progress we've made together is undeniable, and it's the result of the reforms we've made together," she said in the speech in January. "So, let's keep going with bold reforms. Let's send a clear and loud signal that we are willing to move beyond the old way of doing things. Tonight, I'm asking the legislature to put the line item veto on the ballot in November and let Rhode Islanders decide. It's time. Forty-four other states, including Massachusetts, already have it, and they use it to eliminate waste and give taxpayers confidence in their government. Rhode Islanders deserve the same thing."
Governor Raimondo has publicly supported the Line Item Veto every year she has been Governor. ###