Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed a controversial disclosure bill Tuesday.
HB 43 requires corporations, including not-for-profit corporations, disclose all donors and donation amounts when it makes a political issue expenditure of $750.
Groups ranging from the NRA to the ACLU opposed the law because it could require them to disclose their membership lists.
The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action sent an email to supporters March 22 asking them to contact Herbert’s office to “respectfully request” he veto the “unconstitutionally vague” bill.
“This bill is a dangerous politically motivated measure and must be stopped,” the group said.
HB 43 was the second controversial campaign reform legislation Herbert has signed in recent weeks. The governor signed HB 44, which requires disclosure of who paid for a poll, March 27 despite opposition from the American Association of Political Consultants and the Marketing Research Association.
HB 43 could face a court challenge.
“It’s one of the worst written bills I’ve ever seen,” David Keating, president of the Center for Competitive Politics (CCP), a conservative advocacy group, recently told C&E. “It’s so bad I can’t imagine a court upholding it.”