Campaign and government ethics regulators from ten states have announced the launch of a nationwide effort to encourage disclosure of donors to political campaigns and stricter enforcement of campaign finance rules.

The States' Unified Network Center will begin as an informal working group, with a Web site designed to highlight current campaign finance law and proposed legislation to force so-called dark money organizations — nonprofits operating under sections 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) of the tax code that can undertake various amounts of political spending without filing reports with the Federal Election Commission — to disclose their funders when they spend money on state races. The nonpartisan group — which comprises regulators from Alaska, California, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York (state and city), and Washington — also will develop a database of nonprofits that make campaign contributions in multiple states, with the aim of consolidating the state-by-state patchwork of campaign finance databases.

"For the first time, states and cities are banding together to share innovative ideas, strategies, and legislation related to campaign finance," said Ann Ravel, chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. "The SUN Center will be a one-stop shop for the public to stay informed and encourage campaign disclosure in elections."

Ravel told the Washington Post that she pushed for a nationwide alliance after Americans for Responsible Leadership, an outside group that was not required to disclose the names of its donors, spent $11 million it received from other dark money organizations to campaign against a tax initiative in the state in 2012.

"This collaboration will enable us to make major inroads in improving the transparency of donors," said Ravel, who has been appointed to the Federal Election Commission and will no longer be directly involved in the center. "Ultimately, the group could go in many other directions, such as joining enforcement matters, potentially joining in some sort of pressure groups of states with the federal government."