A handful of national good government organizations, including Public Campaign, have been calling on Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy to sign HB 5556, legislation passed by the Connecticut House and Senate that would bring much-needed to transparency to the political process in the state. Some have called the bill “disclosure on steroids,” and it would be a major victory in the post-Citizens United political world.

As Common Cause Connecticut’s Cheri Quickmire said in a statement from Common Cause, People For the American Way, Public Citizen, Demos, and Credo Action on Friday:

“Since Citizens United opened the floodgates to massive amounts of undisclosed, unaccountable political spending, Connecticut has been on the forefront of the effort to limit the outsized influence that corporations and special interests have on our democracy. By signing H.B. 5556 into law, the Governor can help us take an important step toward fairer elections. This bill would protect our candidates from anonymous attacks and corrupting ads. No longer would wealthy special interests be able to take advantage of the system by using shadowy front groups to evade Connecticut law and hijack our democratic system.”

The bill would strengthen reporting requirements for outside groups spending money on our elections, including stand-by-your-ad provisions, and require corporations to get approval from their board of directors before launching attack ads or other electioneering.

A few years ago, we worked hard with activists on the ground in Connecticut to pass the state’s Citizens’ Election public financing program and this would serve as an extension that, ensuring we have a fair and transparent political process.

If you’re in Connecticut, call Gov. Malloy at (860) 566-4840 or forward this to any friends and family you have there.