Two Campaign Funds, Mischief Likely

This is an interesting issue for campaign finance lawyers--what to do with state elected officials who have a state campaign fund, but are running for federal office. While mischief is not necessarily likely, it does present a potential problem. From the Roll Call report (subscription required):

Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) and state Sen. Paula Hollinger (D), candidates in the Free State’s two most competitive and expensive Congressional races this year, have hundreds of thousands of dollars squirreled away in their state campaign accounts.

Although the overwhelming majority of financial activity since they became Congressional candidates has involved their newer, federal campaign accounts, their state funds are still open and active — raising questions about whether campaign money could be commingled, in violation of federal and state election laws.

An excellent question, but one that could work both ways, what if a Representative is running for Governor or something similar?

Although this story is focused on two Maryland candidates, it is a question that has application across the country. Many current state officials often run for federal office and the campaign rules can vary widely. I tend to think this is relatively easy to track, any half-way competent auditor should be able to spot spending in accounts.

One of my favorite campaign finance reformers, Larry Noble get his two cents in:

"It’s a potential problem, and what it requires is very separate accounting and very separate enforcement, which doesn’t always happen," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C.

Federal and Maryland election officials said that state expenditures such as the ones Steele and Hollinger made can be kosher, depending on what they were used for and when they were parceled out.

"The reality is, the way the reporting is done, you don’t always know what the expenditure is," Noble said.

Let's assume for a moment that both candidates have made sure their state and federal reporting are according to the rules (and there is no indication that it has not been), then it seems to me the problem is with the reporting regulations, but Noble seems to imply both shady attemps by the candidates to evade the rules and a failure of the rules themselves.