Bill proposes allowing campaign cash for child care to encourage parental runs for office

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Making the case that parents with young children are unrepresented among lawmakers, two South Florida lawmakers are proposing rules that would allow campaign cash to pay for child care expenses.

Identical legislation (HB 687/SB 1160) that Democrats Sen. Lori Berman and Rep. Kelly Skidmore, both of Boca Raton, have proposed would put the state in line with federal guidelines. In addition to runs for federal office, 29 states also allow candidates to use campaign funds for child care expenses directly related to campaign activities, they say.

These parents with children who need constant supervision have important things to say about housing costs, health care, education and the economy, the lawmakers contend. But the burden of the most intense years of childrearing presents a barrier to being heard.

“This bill will eliminate the hardship that may be hindering good candidates from participating in the process,” Skidmore said, in a prepared statement.

In 2018, the Federal Elections Commission approved allowing federal candidates to spend campaign cash on child care with a unanimous, bipartisan vote, according to a news release from Skidmore’s office. But that ruling doesn’t include state and local offices — where parents currently raising kids are particularly scarce, the release notes.

Recent reports show that less than 7% of members of Congress are mothers with minor children and 24.2% are fathers of minor children. Politics of Parenthood reports that while women make up a small percentage of state legislators nationwide, the gap is even wider for mothers of children under 18 years old, as they make-up only 5.28% of state legislators. Though there is no data on the number of fathers of young children in the state legislatures, there is no doubt that they too are underrepresented, the release says.

“This legislation is not only an investment in the future of our children, but also in the ideals of equal opportunity and representation for all,” Berman said. “This legislation breaks down the barriers that limit the voices of working parents and create a more inclusive and equitable political landscape for generations to come.”