Oregon Legislature abandons attempt to postpone campaign finance limits
A last-minute effort to delay Oregon’s campaign contribution limits from taking effect for another four years won’t move forward, Secretary of State Tobias Read confirmed Friday.
Lawmakers passed campaign finance limits last March, staring down the prospect of two competing ballot measures. Those limits were set to take effect in 2027, to give time to make any legislative fixes, and for the secretary of state’s office to update technology and guidance to candidates and donors.
Instead, campaign finance reform advocates were blindsided this week by a last-minute amendment to a bill that was supposed to provide technical fixes to the campaign finance law. The amendment instead proposed delaying the contribution limits until 2031. It came after Read told lawmakers in a June letter that his office needed more time to effectively implement the law.
On Friday, Read said legislative leadership told him lawmakers would make no progress on campaign finance before adjourning. The lack of action means the current 2027 time frame stands, and that lawmakers will still need to address any technical issues with the law.
“As an Oregonian who believes we must rein in big money in politics and a leader who wants the people to trust that their government is working for them, I am deeply disappointed,” Read said in a statement. “Campaign finance reform is incomplete, and the legislature promised Oregonians they would finish the job in 2025. Without action, this major bipartisan accomplishment is in jeopardy.”
He added that his office needed technical fixes to the law in this session and a commitment to fully fund implementation in 2026.
“Our office will do our best to implement HB 4024, but without fixes now and future investment, we are concerned that this law will not live up to Oregonians’ expectations,” Read added.
Oregon is one of a handful of states with no campaign contribution limits, which in recent elections has manifested in wealthy Oregonians or well-funded groups writing seven-figure checks to candidates and political action committees. The bipartisan campaign finance law passed in 2024 will limit individuals from giving no more than $3,300 per election to any candidate.
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Julia Shumway is editor of Oregon Capital Chronicle and has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix. An award-winning journalist, Julia most recently reported on the tangled efforts to audit the presidential results in Arizona.
