© 2024 Maine Public

Bangor Studio/Membership Department
63 Texas Ave.
Bangor, ME 04401

Lewiston Studio
1450 Lisbon St.
Lewiston, ME 04240

Portland Studio
323 Marginal Way
Portland, ME 04101

Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.
106.5 WMEF-FM in Fort Kent is off the air for needed maintenance and upgrades including a new antenna installation. This work is estimated to last thru Friday. We apologize for the disruption.

King Co-sponsoring Bill That Would Make Donations To Political Nonprofits Public

J Scott Applewhite
/
AP Photo

The Treasury Department has decided to not require donor information from certain nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections. Sen. Angus King is co-sponsoring a bill that would reverse that decision and go further.

“The prior law was that you had to report who the donors were to the Treasury Department, but they weren’t made public,” King says. “The bill that Sen. Jon Tester and I have would say they not only have to report to the IRS, they have to make it public.”

Senator King says there is too much dark money in politics. He says voters deserve to know not only how much is being spent to influence their vote, but also who is contributing to those political groups.

“People should know who is trying to influence their votes,” he says. “It’s as simple as that. And these organizations that call themselves social welfare organizations which are really groups that try to influence elections. There is no reason donors should be hidden from public view.”

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.