Grassroots Democrats hosted the second joint compliance - finance workshop in Portland, Maine. The two-day conference was attended by 14 states, most of whom were not able to attend the June Colorado workshop. Between these two sessions, 40 state parties now have the tools to build effective compliance and finance programs.

Much like the June workshop, this conference focused on the best practices and the latest challenges and developments in federal election law. There was also much discussion on how to think about the relationship between the compliance and finance departments; as well as when they must be separate.

Historically, these two departments have been isolated from each other when training new staff or planning for the future of the party; when we discuss one, we rarely touch on the other. By bringing them together we addressed the legal and logistical questions that arose because they were considered together. And, by addressing these issues now, we build stronger state parties.

As the final stretch of the 2006 cycle approaches, this information will be critical in ensuring that state parties comply with campaign finance laws and avoid potentially crippling fines; knowing how to spend their money effectively, will set the stage for more robust party-building in 2007.

As always, you can help fund these conferences and our programmatic work with individual states by contributing on our website.