During a Friday discussion on Huntsville WVNN's "The Dale Jackson Show," State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) called for "closing loopholes" in Alabama's campaign finance laws following a primary season that demonstrated the influence of "dark money" from out-of-state interest groups in state legislative races.
According to the lawmaker, voters in Alabama should be able to access the donor base of all candidates running for election in the state.
"There are things we can try, but we've got to close some loopholes," Orr told show host Jackson. "I tried it in the legislative session, you'd be amazed at who's hiding out there in the shadows. It's not a bunch of left-wing groups, and so there are a lot of entities out there that kind of bubble up to the top, and say we've got concerns. Not trying to prevent you from playing in elections and contributing. People just have the right to know who you are and where your donor base is. So, look forward to having that debate next year, re-election pending. Hope to be there to push the issue."
The legislator, who has previously introduced constitutional amendments to push transparency in campaign finance, argued the issue of dark money could have been addressed during the last legislative session.
"It's interesting," said Orr. "After the session, seeing all these candidates now upset about it, when we had a chance to do something about it back in the spring. But that's okay, we'll move forward and hopefully get something passed."
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