Senate committee hears proposal to tighten campaign-finance reporting and training

Senator Townsend outlined House Bill 344 as a package of changes to enhance transparency and accountability in campaign finance. Key provisions described included: requiring candidates and committees to maintain a designated bank account in Delaware; requiring campaign and finance training for candidates and treasurers every two years; extending record-retention requirements and an automatic report filing extension; prohibiting negative balances at the time of reporting; and authorizing the commissioner to create regulations for political committee audits.

Townsend said the measures are meant to strike a balance between transparency and administrative burden and to prevent unverified self-loans and other reporting gaps. In public comment Lisa Rice opposed the bill’s estimated $1,500,000 cost to streamline campaign-finance laws and urged lawmakers to prioritize fiscal constraints and other public needs.

No committee vote was recorded; the bill was presented and public testimony heard for committee consideration.