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An ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 220, entitled “Campaign Finance Reports and Statements,” in order to establish a schedule for filing campaign finance reports by all candidates for Allegheny County elected office and to require publication of such reports in a searchable database that is accessible by the public.
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Whereas, the right of candidates to campaign necessarily entails the need to finance such campaigns; and
Whereas, while the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 220, does contain some rudimentary provisions relating to campaign finance report filings, it does not specifically identify any particular report filing schedule; and
Whereas, under the terms of currently existing Commonwealth filing deadlines, candidates are only required to file an annual, 2nd Friday pre-primary, 30 Day post-primary, 2nd Friday pre-general and 30 day post-general finance reports; and
Whereas, this reporting schedule leaves a large gap between filings, especially during the months immediately before both primary and general elections, when such reporting is most relevant; and
Whereas, adding an additional reporting deadline would increase the financial transparency of our County political candidates;
Whereas, because the provisions of Chapter 220 have not been meaningfully altered since their original enactment in August of 2003, they reflect a state of technology that is two decades old; and
Whereas, transparency in campaign finance is a vital means of observing the influence of special interests and other parties in the political process, and it is the desire of the Council to make better use of technology to increase such transparency.
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of the Preamble
The provisions of the preamble to this Ordinance are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference here...
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