The Anne Arundel County Council is working on the fly to find ways to fund its new public campaign finance system.

But members and allies of the bipartisan commission overseeing the system say it’s too late for any fix to be apolitical.

Council Chair Julie Hummer, a Laurel Democrat, introduced a bill in July that would create a mechanism to add funds outside the regular budget cycle. At the bill’s first public hearing Monday, opponents to the legislation decried the omission of one factor they say is essential: the entirety of the $1.5 million the Public Campaign Financing System Commission requested in the fiscal 2026 budget.

“The core problem is: It’s too late,” said Rebecca Forte, a former member of the financing commission who stepped down in June. “No bill introduced after June’s

See Full Page