Oregon Political Contributions Remain Unlimited Despite State Supreme Court Ruling

Mario Dalessandro, J.D. 
Manager, Research Services

The Oregon Supreme Court reversed its longstanding ban on strict campaign finance limits by ruling in favor of a voter approved Multnomah County law putting a $500 limit on campaign donations. The court concluded contribution limits are not invalid under the state constitution.

However, Oregon political candidates in legislative and statewide races can continue to accept contributions vastly exceeding the caps voters approved in 2006. Measure 47 placed a $1,000 limit on donations to statewide candidates and a $100 limit on contributions to legislative candidates, but was held unenforceable by a prior state Supreme Court ruling. On May 1, Secretary of State Bev Clarno announced Measure 47 was not made operative by the Oregon Supreme Court decision and as such there remains no change in current state election laws. Clarno’s decision was based on a verbal opinion from the state Department of Justice.

In Portland, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Thomas Ryan ruled Mayor Ted Wheeler’s campaign did not need to limit spending after a suit filed by his main opponent questioned his use of contributions. Portland mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone had joined several campaign finance activists in a lawsuit against Wheeler’s campaign, contending the mayor must repay all the donations he’s received surpassing the $500 campaign finance limit approved by city voters in 2018, but never enforced due to legal challenges.

Because of the Oregon Supreme Court ruling, the Office of City Auditor will begin enforcing Portland’s campaign finance measure starting May 4. However, the auditor’s office will not be retroactively punishing candidates for taking large donations. Portland Attorney Dan Meek said he would ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider its April decision to make it clear Measure 47 should go into effect immediately. Candidates who violate the new donation limits will face fines of up to $3,000 per violation.

In November, voters will decide on a proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution authorizing adoption of state and local laws limiting political contributions and expenditures and requiring campaign finance related disclosures.

Michael Beckett, Esq.,
Associate Director, Research Services

ARKANSAS: A federal judge has made his temporary injunction permanent to allow Arkansas candidates for statewide office to accept campaign contributions more than two years before an election. U.S. District Judge James Moody, Jr. reinforced his initial ruling that it is unconstitutional for the state to ban contributions for state office candidates more than two years before an election. In January, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Moody’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction against the state’s blackout period for accepting campaign contributions. 

NORTH DAKOTA: The North Dakota Ethics Commission website is now live. The website, ethicscommission.nd.gov, includes board information, meeting minutes, and complaint forms. The website includes board information, meeting minutes, and complaint forms. On April 23, the five-member board discussed reconciling perceived conflicts in constitutional and statutory language related to commission procedures. During the live streaming meeting on May 13, the commission heard from Ellen Chaffee of North Dakotans for Public Integrity regarding allowable gifts between public officials and lobbyists.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications' digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking regarding lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.
 

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