Summary
Candidates and political groups spent roughly $7 billion during the 2012 general election, and over $300 million of this was spent anonymously. This was a considerable increase in the amount of dark money in a single election cycle. Some commentators have decried this phenomenon as undemocratic. Others have argued against expanding the regulation of dark money, claiming that doing so would hamper free speech and serve partisan interests. With the enactment of Chapter 16, the California legislature has taken a pro-disclosure approach to the issue of dark money. This bill, carried by Senator Lou Correa, will force groups contributing large amounts of money to California political campaigns to disclose their financial backers.
