Rhode Island has taken an important step forward in the fight against secret spending in our elections. After passing a groundbreaking transparency law over a decade ago, the state has adopted regulations to ensure the law, appropriately titled “An Act Relating to Elections — Disclosure of Political Contributions and Expenditures,” can now be fully implemented.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which opened the door to unlimited corporate spending and a flood of secret spending in our elections, Rhode Island’s 2012 law was designed to “protect and enhance core democratic functions” by empowering the Rhode Island electorate with vital information about the sources of political spending, allowing voters to make informed decisions when they vote and reducing corruption or the appearance of corruption by shining a light on the sources of political spending.
This law introduced robust disclosure requirements for independent election spending, including electioneering communications (ads referencing a candidate close to Election Day) and, critically, required transparency for “covered transfers” — transfers of money from the true source to one or more intermediaries and ultimately to a big political spender, such as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization or super PAC — exceeding $1,000 in a calendar year. It also required on-ad disclosure of the top five donors from the preceding year for any organization sponsoring a political ad.
Although Rhode Island’s law was a massive achievement for transparency in elections, the lack of updated regulations for independent expenditures, electioneering communications, and covered transfers for years after the law’s passage resulted in underenforcement of the law’s requirements and conflicting guidance regarding its application.
In 2018, Campaign Legal Center teamed up with Common Cause Rhode Island to take action by filing a petition for rulemaking with the Rhode Island State Board of Elections to finally bring the regulations into alignment with the law and campaign finance developments post-Citizens United.
The following six years entailed several starts and stops, with CLC and Common Cause Rhode Island testifying before the Board and working with Board staff to refine proposed regulations. While the rulemaking was ongoing, a lawsuit challenging the law was filed.
Specifically, Gaspee Project v. Mederos sought to invalidate significant portions of the law, challenging both the disclosure and disclaimer provisions. CLC helped to defend the law, partnering with Common Cause Rhode Island and the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in support of the law.
After the First Circuit upheld the law and affirmed its constitutionality, CLC served as co-counsel to the state defendants, along with the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General, in opposing the challengers’ petition seeking review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court denied the petition, delivering a win for Rhode Island voters and leaving the law intact.
With the Gaspee Project suit dismissed, the Board revived the rulemaking process in 2023. After multiple hearings — including testimony from CLC and Common Cause Rhode Island about the importance of the law and the need for clear regulations — the Board finally adopted updated rules on March 5, 2024. The new rules, which closely track the proposals included in CLC and Common Cause’s 2018 rulemaking petition, went into effect in April 2024.
Rhode Island’s experience highlights the importance of having both strong legislation and clear, effective administrative regulations and guidance to ensure proper implementation and administration of new laws.
It also reflects that the fact the road to transparency may not always be simple, and new policies may face legal challenges. While such challenges may delay the ultimate effect of new transparency laws, the Gaspee Project case demonstrates the strength of such laws in the courts, and their importance to the voting public as a whole.
In the words of the First Circuit, “a well-informed electorate is as vital to the survival of a democracy as air is to the survival of human life.”
Voters have a right to know who is spending to influence their decisions when they cast their ballot. Now, Rhode Island voters have one more avenue to protect and pursue that right. Together with local partners, CLC works to vindicate voters’ right to know through legislative, administrative, and judicial avenues.