Reports of this bill's death have been greatly exaggerated (with apologies to Mark Twain)

As we recently noted, some very good bills that made it through the House met untimely deaths over in the Senate amid the procedural drama of Friday, March 2. And the reality is, every session there are scores of great bills that don't quite make it all the way through the process before the clock runs out. It's the nature of lawmaking in our democracy.

However, it has been brought to our attention that the Associated Press is reporting the death of one great bill that actually isn't dead at all.  In fact, it's very much alive and headed to the governor's desk for signature.

House Bill 2499, sponsored by Rep. Andy Billig, requires ballot measure campaigns to identify their top five donors in advertisements.  In the video below you can watch Rep. Billig's speech on the House floor in favor of the measure, in which he describes how our state's ballot initiative process - originally conceived as a "safety valve" against the influence of special interests - has been "turned on its head." This bill brings transparency back to the initiative process, so the public is better informed about who is paying for advertising in favor of - or against - specific measures.

It passed both House and Senate with bipartisan majorities.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.