Louis J Sheehan 80058 A51H18

Election Commission Eases Limits on Some Political Ads

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 — Unions, businesses and interest groups may run television and radio “issue ads” that name candidates in the days before elections, federal regulators said Tuesday, easing previous restrictions.

The unanimous decision by the Federal Election Commission could lead to new commercials next month in Iowa, where the cutoff date for issue ads was just 13 days away. Beyond that, the decision opens the way for even more big-money advertising campaigns by groups trying to influence next year’s elections.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that restrictions on issue ads were unconstitutional, overturning a 2002 campaign law that banned corporations and unions from paying for them within two months of a general election and 30 days of a primary election. But the court offered no clear guidelines for what types of advertisements would be affected, leaving that decision to the F.E.C.

Under the rules adopted Tuesday, issue ads that mention a political candidate will be permissible in the weeks before an election as long as they focus on public policy and do not mention an election, a political party or an opposing candidate. The commission also left the door open for other advertisements if it determined that their main focus was a public policy issue or a commercial transaction.

The commissioners voted to require that financing for advertising by unions or corporations be publicly disclosed.

Groups supported by corporations or labor will still be prohibited from running advertisements that call for the election or defeat of a specific candidate. Only candidate committees and political action committees, whose donors can give limited amounts of money, are allowed to run such “express advocacy” advertisements.