SAN ANTONIO – An hours-long discussion filled with moments of confusion ultimately gave way to a city council vote Thursday to make changes to the city's campaign finance rules.
The city's Ethic Review Board and a task force created at the recommendation of the ERB proposed the changes in an effort to increase transparency in the reporting of campaign contributions.
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The ERB recommended requiring contributors to disclose their occupation and employer.
District 9 Councilman John Courage proposed an amendment that would allow board members and executive members of nonprofits not formed by the city to be excluded from that requirement, which the city council ultimately approved.
A recommendation from the ERB to increase campaign contribution limits failed.
The council voted down increasing limits from $500 to $750 for council members and from $1,000 to $1,500 for the mayor.
Council members approved a third change to campaign finance regulations that now requires council members to report their contributions nine times over two years, an increase from the current reporting of seven.
The vote was preceded by hours of confusion among council members.
Some of the fumbling on the dais stemmed from procedural questions and repeated clarification needed from the city attorney, who himself at times seemed befuddled.
Other muddy moments were caused by motions made by council members that seemed to cause confusion among their colleagues.
District 6 Councilman Greg Brockhouse, District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry and District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales questioned why the campaign finance changes were needed in the first place.
Perry and Brockhouse proposed tabling the vote and discussion to August, but the motion was voted down.