Four Reasons to Pass SB 166

A House committee passed SB 166 last month to end taxpayer-funded collection of campaign money. Here are four reasons this legislation should garner the full support of House members this week.

1. Fairness – Government unions are the only organizations that can use taxpayer resources to collect their political money. Ending this privilege creates a level political-playing field, treating all political interests equally under the law.
    
2. Ethics – Politicians have gone to prison for using public resources to advance their private, political agenda. If it’s wrong for politicians to use public resources for political purposes, it should be wrong for any private organization.
    
3. Accountability – SB 166 allows public employees to hold their unions more accountable. Under the current system, unions can deduct campaign contributions from workers’ paychecks. But SB 166 requires government unions to collect their own campaign dollars, ensuring union leaders engage with union members.
    
4. Public Support – The vast majority of voters—even the vast majority of union households—believe it is wrong to use public resources to collect campaign contributions. Union contracts should not be able to mandate a practice that ought to be illegal and is in many other states.

These are just a few of reasons why now is the time to restore integrity by stopping the practice of using public resources to collect campaign money.