Laurie Roberts

opinion columnist

Gov. Doug Ducey didn't waste any time in signing a bill to make it easier for secret interests to buy the state of Arizona.

Or at least, its leaders.

Ducey signed SB 1516 not even 48 hours after the Republican-controlled Legislature sent it up to him.

Ducey says it's all about encouraging political speech.

"This is the first step in simplifying our laws and regulations to provide more opportunity for participation in the political process and increased freedom of speech," he said.

Of course, this has nothing to do with freedom of speech and everything to do with freedom of big-money interests to secretly funnel money into campaigns in order to buy influence and ultimately to buy our government. Only you'll never know it's happening because you won't be able to see it.

No doubt, APS CEO Don Brandt -- who headed Ducey's inaugural committee -- and other dark money groups are dancing in their corner offices today.

Dark money maestro Sean Noble and the folks at Axiom Public Affairs are no doubt also doing a little jig as they lay the early financial framework for Ducey's 2024 presidential bid.

The dark money bill was sent to Ducey on Wednesday, after the House on Tuesday voted 31-27 to allow unlimited amounts of "dark money" to flood into Arizona’s elections this fall, buying candidates under cover of darkness.

“I think transparency is generally a good principle, but it is not the overarching principle,” said Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, adding that anonymous interests need privacy more than you need to know who is secretly doling out big money to get certain people elected..

Good to know, don’t you think?

The dark money double standard

Transparency is apparently important when our leaders want you to know something. And when they don’t – as in who is secretly funding their campaigns? Not so much.

I’m guessing the regulators who set your electricity rate over at the Arizona Corporation Commission – or as I like to call it, that wholly owned subsidiary of APS – would agree.

EDITORIAL:Can this dark money bill get any worse?

APS is widely believed to have secretly spent $3.2 million to buy a pair of seats on the commission in 2014 with more, no doubt, to come later this year when the other three seats will be up for grabs.

Why more groups will go stealth

Be sure to thank Secretary of State Michele Reagan for this new law, which loosens up what little campaign-finance disclosure Arizona requires, encourages more groups to go stealth and allows them to secretly spend an unlimited amount of money to try to get you see things their way.

Without, of course, telling you who they are or why they really want your vote.

Reagan’s elections director, Eric Spencer, wrote the bill. Coincidentally, he previously worked at Snell & Wilmer with Mike Liburdi, who is now the lawyer for Ducey. You know, the governor who enjoyed $3.5 million in dark-money support in the 2014 elections.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is reporting that dark-money operations spent more than $1.3 million in an effort to buy themselves a Legislature in 2014 – most of it spent for Republican candidates.

Who gets the most dark money

The top two Democrat recipients of dark money were Sens. Catherine Miranda of Phoenix and Carlyle Begay of Ganado (now a Republican). Coincidentally, they were the only two Democrats to endorse Ducey in 2014.

Miranda enjoyed nearly $64,000 in dark money support – the most of any legislator. Begay benefited from $44,000 in secret spending.

Top Republican recipients were Rep. Jeff Dial of Chandler ($55,000), Sen John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills ($34,000) Rep. Doug Coleman of Apache Junction ($29,000), Rep. Jay Lawrence of Scottsdale ($26,000) and Rep. Vince Leach of Tucson ($25,000).

No doubt there will be more to come, for them and for the rest of this sorry Legislature that is selling out Arizona voters.

And now, it's open season on spending

Reagan’s bill will allow 501c4 non-profits to spend as much as they want on ballot measures. Currently, these so-called “social welfare” groups can spend no more than 49 percent of what they collect on political campaigns.

The bill also eliminates reporting requirements for non-profits, meaning you have no hope of ever learning who is funding those independent campaigns that are spending whatever it takes to make sure their guy gets elected.

Sweet. If you’re trying to pull one over on Arizona voters that is.

“We’re voting on something that is going to lead to the downfall of democracy,” Rep. Jonathan Larkin, D-Glendale, told his colleagues. “We are condoning corporations to spend an unlimited amount of money to potentially buy off or to influence our elections process.”

Who's against the bill

Not all Republicans sold out. Reps. Kate Brophy-McGee of Phoenix, Michelle Ugenti-Rita of Scottsdale, Jonathan Ackerly of Sahuarita and Noel Campbell of Prescott voted against it (though Campbell said he would have voted for it had his vote been needed for the bill to pass).

Longtime GOP strategist Chuck Coughlin -- the guy who was to run the financially starved and now stalled voter initiative to crack down on dark money -- decried the “massive loopholes” in the bill that essentially allow the state to forgo regulating campaign money.

“Arizonans,” he wrote on Tuesday, “are demanding light and transparency and are being met with darkness and obfuscation.”

We are. And you should remember this.

Roberts: Yeah, I whine about dark money. You should, too

Montini: Cockroaches win. Lawmakers turn out the lights

Robb: Overreacting to Reagan's campaign rewrite