Vermont: Senate debate to ban corporations from giving campaign contributions, shut down

[cali]

Campaign finance bill hits snag in Vermont Senate
5:20 AM Tue., March 29, 2011 | Permalink
By Terri Hallenbeck

Members of the Senate Government Operations Committee were about to debate a proposal to ban corporations from giving campaign contributions to Vermont candidates Thursday afternoon, when Senate Majority Leader Bill Carris walked into the committee room.

“We need to address that in caucus,” Carris said.

The five committee members stared in silence. OK, but they were just about to debate the matter here. No, he told them, it had to wait.

Two members of the committee — Sens. Peter Galbraith, D-Windsor, and Anthony Pollina, D/P-Washington — want to declare that corporations can’t contribute to candidates. Though the two don’t appear to have the votes to pass it out of the five-member committee, they have senators nervous enough for Carris to call for a timeout.

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http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/politics/2011/03/29/campaign-finance-bill-hits-snag-in-vermont-senate/

[Lasher]

1. The SCOTUS said such a prohibition is unconstitutional.

They're wrong, but they said it. I think that's probably why Carris pulled the plug.

[mwb970]

2. Vermont is showing signs of sanity.

Will they lead the way?

[cali]

3. Vermont has long been sane politcally. This is nothing new.

As for leading the way, maybe but I doubt it.