This week, the National Institute on Money in State Politics, which tracks campaign spending across the country, released a valuable report on California’s system of sharing information about political spending. The report was funded by Irvine as part of our work to improve political transparency in our state.

The Institute’s report examines and makes recommendations on the public’s access to three types of information:

• Contributions to political candidates and campaign committees
• Campaign spending by independent organizations
• Spending directed at lobbying government officials

It is already garnering support among good government organizations for strong accountability. Kathay Feng, Executive Director of California Common Cause, said, “The Institute’s new report highlights reforms needed to bring greater transparency and accountability to California’s political system.”

We hope the report, which you can read here, helps advance the conversation about how California can continue to deepen its commitment to providing the public with easy-to-use information about campaign spending.

Please let us know what you think.