Lawmakers nix proposal to delay campaign finance limits for years after backlash
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Lawmakers nix proposal to delay campaign finance limits for years after backlash
Lawmakers will not advance a bill that would have delayed the imposition of campaign finance limits in Oregon for four years. The effort died after good government advocates said the proposed delay was an attempt by lawmakers to avoid restricting the massive flow of money into politics. Oregon is one of just five states without such limits. Secretary of State Tobias Read said he was “deeply disappointed” that lawmakers will finish this year’s legislative session without making any substantial refinements to last year”s law. The law would limit contributions from individuals to just $3,300 to any candidate for statewide office, the state House or Senate or district attorney per election, meaning a primary or general election contest. It would also limit political parties to contributing $30,000 to any statewide candidate and $15,000 for other candidates per election. It also requires the secretary of state to overhaul the state’s outdated campaign finance tracking system and replace it with a comprehensive, modernized dashboard.
The effort died after good government advocates said the proposed delay was an attempt by lawmakers to avoid restricting the massive flow of money into politics. Oregon is one of just five states without such limits.
Secretary of State Tobias Read, a Democrat whose office must carry out the provisions of a historic 2024 bill that will eventually limit the amount of money contributed to state political candidates and ballot measures, said he was “deeply disappointed” that lawmakers will finish this year’s legislative session without making any substantial refinements to last year’s law.
In the past two weeks, Read told legislative leaders that his team needs more time, guidance and funding to effectively implement the law. He sent them a letter on June 19 detailing a long list of concerns and emphasized at length the urgency of the situation in a public hearing this week.
In response to that letter, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan of Canby introduced a bill this week that would have delayed the implementation of campaign finance limits by four years, meaning any restrictions would not go in place until at least 2031.
During the hearing, several Republican lawmakers thanked Read for being forthright about his concerns and agreed delaying the limits would give his office more time to properly enact the technical provisions required under the law. Democratic lawmakers, who last year pledged to return this session to refine the law, did not indicate strong support or opposition to the bill.
The effort is now dead. And with the legislative session expected to wrap up this weekend, lawmakers have not made any changes to the state’s campaign finance law.
“Campaign finance reform is incomplete, and the Legislature promised Oregonians they would finish the job in 2025,” Read said in a statement. “Without action, this major bipartisan accomplishment is in jeopardy.”
Jill Bakken, spokesperson for House Speaker Julie Fahey, a Eugene Democrat, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Fahey oversaw negotiations leading up to last year’s bill and pledged to make technical fixes to the bill this year.
Given Oregon’s lack of campaign finance limits, massive amounts of money have flowed to political candidates and ballot measure campaigns in recent years. For example, Read raised nearly $1 million last year while running for secretary of state. Drazan raised more than $22 million during the 2022 gubernatorial race that saw record amounts of spending.
As written, last year’s law would limit contributions from individuals to just $3,300 to any candidate for statewide office, the state House or Senate or district attorney per election, meaning a primary or general election contest. It would also limit political parties to contributing $30,000 to any statewide candidate and $15,000 for other candidates per election, among other provisions.
The law also requires the Secretary of State’s Office to overhaul the state’s outdated campaign finance tracking system and replace it with a comprehensive, modernized dashboard that tracks troves of data related to political contributions between individuals, unions, corporations, industry groups and political candidates.
Good government advocates, who have for months pressured lawmakers to make technical fixes to last year’s bill, slammed the proposed delay as an attempt to dodge contribution limits.
They pointed out that the Secretary of State’s Office has until 2027 or 2028 to implement the most technical and complicated aspects of the law, which they said is more than enough time to do so. They asserted that other states and cities have implemented campaign finance reform in far shorter time periods.
Read said his office can carry out the provisions of the bill by its required deadlines, but he expressed concern that the rushed timeline could lead to unintended consequences. He told lawmakers his team will likely make a significant funding request next year to set up the technology to track the contributions and improve public visibility.
“For months, we rang the alarm to the Legislature and stakeholders” about the need for more guidance, time and funding, Read said. “Unfortunately, now it appears that none of this will happen. Our office will do our best to implement (the law), but without fixes now and future investment, we are concerned that this law will not live up to Oregonians’ expectations.”
— Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or cfuentes@oregonian.com.