Different types of bills get passed before session

by Patrick Gannon, The Insider, January 12, 2015.

By the time state legislators get sworn in this week for the 2015-16 legislative session, many of them already will be tired.

But at least their campaign coffers will be heavier.

It's a time-honored tradition at the General Assembly. Many – if not most – lawmakers will spend the evening before Wednesday's organizational day collecting campaign checks from political action committees, or PACs, as well as other donors.

They'll visit places like City Club Raleigh, where the presumed leaders of the House and Senate – Rep. Tim Moore and Sen. Phil Berger – are hosting a reception, seeking contributions of $5,000, $2,500 or $1,000 to each of their campaigns.

They'll sip cocktails and eat appetizers and mingle with the same people they'll see routinely in the halls of the Legislative Building for the next six months or so during the long legislative session.

By morning, hundreds of thousands of dollars will have been transferred to campaign chests of incoming legislators, much of which will come from groups expecting to have legislation in front of the General Assembly.

This is normal, and both Democrats and Republicans do it. It's not illegal, provided that contribution limits aren't exceeded and donations are properly reported. But good government advocates say holding fundraisers so close to legislative sessions smells of pay-to-play politics, where those who want to influence legislators fork over cash to gain access.

Lawmakers say the timing of the events is simply a function of the fact that most legislators-elect will be in Raleigh Tuesday because they will be sworn in on Wednesday. Also, PACs aren't allowed by law to donate to legislators during sessions, so they have to make their contributions beforehand.

Additional fundraisers will be held Jan. 27, the day before the General Assembly starts its real business for the year. That day, for example, Republican state senators will stock up their campaign accounts at an event at The Stockroom at 230 in downtown Raleigh.

Democrats are raising money, too. On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Museum will be the setting for a reception supporting freshman House Democrats. An invitation for that event lists the names and addresses of nine first-year Democrats, so contributors know where to send money.

But one freshman Democrat's information is missing from that invite. Rep. Brian Turner of Asheville didn't take money from PACs during his successful campaign against former Rep. Tim Moffitt, and he's not taking it now. He said he's returned $20,000 or more in PAC contributions.

"It was very important for me to let my district know that should I go down to Raleigh, it would be with no strings attached," Turner said. "I think people are looking for someone more independent and not someone so beholden to special interests."

Turner acknowledges that not taking PAC dollars puts him at a disadvantage in election bids, as he will have less money to spend on ads and other campaign activities.

He will attend this week's fundraisers anyway, he said, because he wants to build relationships with as many people as possible in the capital as he launches his political career. He just won't accept the PAC checks.

"I'll have those conversations with them absent of their financial support because I'll talk to anybody," he said.

Cheers to that.