Montana got an “A” rating today in a scorecard measuring disclosure and transparency requirements for contributions to state campaigns.
Montana fared better than most states in the scorecard released by the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
The scorecard looked at what kind of information was disclosed about campaign donors, the timeliness and quality of that data, and the public’s access to it.
Montana received a score of 92.5 out of 100. The national average was 77.
“Montana has made some really big strides.”
That’s Research Director Peter Quist. He says if this scorecard had been given out last year, Montana's score would have been much worse.
But Quist says parts of Disclose Act signed into law by Governor Steve Bullock last April pushed Montana among the ten states with an “A” rating.
Without the Disclose Act, Montana's score would have been 67.5 out of 100, a "D", Quist says.
The Disclose Act added restrictions on coordination between candidates and outside organizations, disclosure of donors and spending, and same-day electronic disclosures of campaign contributions.
“And so Montana got a full score for electronic filing requirement and a full score for data availability.”
The Disclose Act is being challenged in federal court by Montanans for Community Development.
CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to say that without the Disclose Act, Montana's score would have been 67.5 out of 100, a "D". The story originally said Montana's score would have been a "C". This correction was made after the National Institute on Money in State Politics clarified their calculation of the impact the Disclose Act had on Montana's score.
