Bill seeks disclosures of campaign spending

State officials in Arizona are seeking tougher disclosure requirements for businesses and unions that make independent expenditures for or against candidates.

A bill introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Eddie Farnsworth would set new criteria for requiring entities to register as political committees and disclose their funding sources. The criteria include evidence that a corporation was formed solely to influence elections.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett says some entities contend their spending in the Phoenix mayoral election or the Russell Pearce recall election don’t trigger current disclosure requirements.

Bennett is supporting the legislation along with state Attorney General Tom Horne.

Bennett says the disclosure requirement is important because the source of funding for election ads is important to many voters’ decisions on whether to believe those messages.