A group of left-leaning political activists say the Legislature needs to shed light on the operations of "super PACs" well before the next election.

Our reporters' roundtable looks at the people and issues in all the statewide races and discusses the impact that Super PAC money has had in this campaign.

A Vermont based Republican Super PAC is on track to spend $1 million during the 2012 campaign and the group is putting a lot of its energy into the race for State Treasurer. The GOP Super PAC is called Vermonters First and it's bankrolled by Lenore Broughton of Burlington. The group has raised just over $684,000 for this campaign cycle and all but $900 has come from Broughton.

The latest campaign reports show that incumbents in Vermont's statewide races hold a strong fundraising edge over their challengers heading into the last seven weeks of the campaign. But the emergence of a new Super PAC could help even the field in some of these races.

Both incumbent Governor Peter Shumlin and his Republican challenger Randy Brock say they would support a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United.  And both Shumlin and Brock are also rejecting an agreement that could help keep most super PAC money out of their election.

A new campaign organization known as a "Super PAC" is now part of the Vermont political landscape. The creators of the newly formed "Priorities PAC" say they'll back liberal causes and candidates, as well as efforts to reduce the influence of money in campaigns.

New Super PACs could play a critical role in Vermont's 2012 statewide and legislative elections - a situation that has renewed the debate over campaign finance legislation in the state.

Congressman Peter Welch is leading an effort to have the Internal Revenue Service investigate the operations of new Super PACs that have played a prominent role in this year's presidential campaign. Welch says he wants the I.R.S. to determine whether the groups are in violation of federal tax law.