Mayor Muriel Bowser quietly let a major campaign finance reform law pass Thursday, neither giving it her formal stamp of approval by signing it or overturning it with a veto.

The Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2017 prohibits people who hold large contracts with the D.C. government, or are seeking them, from donating to political campaigns. The legislation also incorporates reforms from a number of other bills in a bid to end “pay-to-play politics.” The Council passed the omnibus bill unanimously this fall.

Bowser hasn’t issued a letter explaining her decision, which she had done in similar situations in the past. But the mayor confirmed that she didn’t sign the bill on the Kojo Nnamdi Show’s Politics Hour on Friday.

“I don’t think the Council landed in the right place. I think it is confusing in a lot of ways,” Bowser said, without elaborating on which specific elements of the law she objects to. She added that there “may be opportunities to fix some of the things that I think are problematic.” 

A spokesperson for the mayor has not returned a request for comment. 

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who introduced and shepherded the legislation, said Bowser had not reached out to discuss her concerns or any potential changes. While Allen told DCist he is open to discussing them, he pushed back against the idea that it is a confusing piece of legislation.

“It’s very straightforward. If you’re a contractor or competing to do business, you can’t make political contributions … It’s very easy for people to understand the rules of the road,” he says, pointing out that 17 other states have similar laws on the books. “When we’re trying to make changes around campaign finance, we’re trying to put the power back in people’s hands. Opponents frequently say things like ‘It’s going to be confusing. It’s hard to understand. How are we going to implement it?’ It’s usually just a tactic.”  

While some government watchdogs have echoed the mayor’s criticism of the bill, others praised the legislation.

“This is a masterfully constructed campaign finance reform package,” Aquene Freechild, co-director of Public Citizen’s ‘Democracy Is For People’ campaign, told DCist. “It contains proposals from [Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent] Gray, [At-large Councilmember Anita] Bonds, much of the rest of the Council. It is very well done. I don’t know what [Bowser] could be referring to.” 

In addition to barring contributions from individuals and businesses that have large contracts with the city, the legislation also strengthens the Office of Campaign Finance, requires campaigns to settle their debts within one year, and tightens rules so that candidates can’t coordinate as easily with outside spending groups (which Freechild notes is a response to Citizens United).  

Allen also introduced separate legislation to set up public financing for elections last year, which the mayor was initially opposed to and later supported and funded in her budget. Taken together, the two bills represent sweeping changes for a political system that has long been perceived as too cozy with large donors.

Even without Bowser’s signature, Allen hailed the next phase of the legislation, which now goes to the regular review period before Congress.

“This is a landmark, landscape-changing reform,” he says. “To get big money out of politics, to stop ‘pay-to-play’—it’s a big day for the District.”